Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Essex.
ESSEX .
THE annual gathering of this Provincial Grand Lodge , which took place on Wednesday , at Maldon , proved one of the mosfc successful meetings of its kind ib has been our fortune to participate in , and the way in which the whole of the arrangements of the day were carried through was nofc only eminently satisfactory , but proved thafc the members of the two local Lodges , the St . Peter , No . 1024 , and the Blackwater , No . 1977 ,
had worked very hard in their efforts to ensure the comfort and enjoyment of the large number of Brethren and Ladies—for the annual banquet was graced by the presence of a large number of the fair sex—who visited the quaint old town . Happily the weather was fine , although there were reports of heavy rain as near as Clacton , Manningfcree , and other places ; in fact , everything seemed to combine to mark the Essex meeting of 1896 as a happy and successful one .
The Provincial Grand Master the Earl of Warwick and Brooke entered the Lodge Eoom with a large number of present and past Provincial Officers in procession , and , the party having been photographed , afc once opened his Lodge , he and his Deputy His Honour Judge Philbrick , Q . C , G . Eeg ., being duly saluted .
The mmubes of the last meeting having been confirmed , letters of regret were read from several distinguished members of the Order who were unable to accept the invitation to attend Provincial Grand Lodge . The roll of the Province was called , representatives of each Lodge answering , after which the Deputy rose to present the Eeport of the Board of General Purposes ,
which he prefaced by saying the Provincial Grand Lodge might be congratulated on having a body of indefatigable Brebhren who had carefully examined into the affairs of the Province , and had reported so favourably as bhey had done . Essex had nob only maintained its position , but had improved it , as they now had 1 , 939 members in 38 Lodges , against 1 , 877 last year , an increase
of something over 60 , and he thought they might derive satisfaction from the facts given . The Province had been singularly unanimous during the year , no matter of dispute requiring the attention of the authorities , and in connection with this and other matters all must recognise how much they owed to the truly Masonic rule of the Earl of Warwick , who , thirteen years
since , as Lord Brooke , was installed as their Provincial Grand Master , since when they had each year met with increased success , and had , above all , maintained the true principle of Masonic Charity so well that they need not shrink from comparison with any other similar body of Masons in the country . Bro . Philbrick drew attention to the first paragraph of the report , which , being of a personal character , was hardly
within the scope of his remarks ; noted the large number of Brethren in arrears , and hoped an effort would be made to remedy this mosfc undesirable feature in their returns , as the well-being of their Lodges depended on due order and regularity , which could not be possible if arrears prevailed ; mentioned the different grants ifc was intended to make , and then proposed the adoption of the Eeport , which 'motion was duly seconded , and unanimously agreed to .
The following is the Eeport of the Board : — 1 . Since the last meeting of Provincial Grand Lodge our esteemed Deputy Provincial Grand Master has been appointed County Court Judge of an important district in the West of England . In offering to His Honour Judge Philbrick hearty congratulations , the Board desire , on behalf of the Province , to express the hope that he may live long to enjoy his well-earned appointment .
2 . The proposed arrangements for the reception of Provincial Grand Lodge , at Maldon , on the 15 th July , were submitted and approved , and the Board trust that they will tend to the success of the meeting . 3 . The accounts for the financial year , which had been previously audited by a sub-committee appointed for the purpose , were submitted , and afterpayment of all out-standing claims show a balance in hand of £ 163 5 s 9 d on the General Account , and of £ 29 15 s 4 d on the Charity Account . A statement of receipts and expenditure is appended .
4 . The Boturns from the Lodges show that during the past year there have been 151 Initiations , and 71 Joining Members . Against this , there have been 85 Resignations ; the losses by death have been 34 , whilst 41 Brethren have been struck off the Books of their respective Lodges , leaving the present strength of the Province 1 , 939 Members , against 1 , 877 last year . The Board regret to note that the Brethren returned as " in arrear " have increased from 152 last year to 190 this year , which is equivalent to ten per cent , of the total membership of the Province .
5 . The Board recommend that , with a view to minimise the work of Secretaries of Lodges and to ensure greater uniformity in making the Annual Beturns , books of uniform pattern be supplied , at a cost to each Lodge not exceeding 10 s , instead of the loose sheets which have hitherto been in use .
6 . The Board recommend that the sum of £ 25 be paid towards the expenses of the reception of Provincial Grand Lodge , which on this occasion is in the hands of a Joint Committee of the St . Peter ' s Lodge , No . 1024 , and the Blackwater Lodge , No . 1977 .
7 . The Board also recommend the payment of the following grants : — ( A ) From the General Fund : A Donation of Twenty Guineas to the Boyal Masonic Institution for Boys , a like sum to the Boyal Masonic Institution for Girls ; Five Guineas to the Scholarship Fund of the Boyal Masonic Institution for Boys ; and Two Guineas to each of the following Voluntary Schools of the Borough of Maldon , viz . ;—The British , the National , and the St . Mary ' s National Schools , ( B ) From the Charity Fund : A Donation of Twenty Guineas to the Boyal Masonic Benevolent Institution .
Essex.
8 . The Board recommend that as a well-deserved compliment to the Brethren who have done such good service to the Province as Charity Representatives , their portraits be inserted in the Calender for 1897 . 9 . Tho Board regret to record that the Province has lost by death an unusual number of prominent Brethren during the past twelve months . The
long list on page 21 of the Calender has been supplemented within the past few days by the deaths of W . Bros . James Howell P . M . 1343 P . P . G . Std . Br ., and Eobert Jennings P . M . 1437 P . P . G . Swd . Br ., both of whom were very active members of Provincial Grand Lodge , particularly in support of the Charities . Signed on behalf of the Board ,
JOHN J . 0 . TURNEE , CHAIRMAN . 27 th June 1896 . The Eeporfc of fche Charity Committee was next presented and adopted , this detailing what had been done during the year
with the votes of the Province , and on behalf of the great central funds ; during the six years 1891-96 no less a sum than £ 10 , 354 7 s 6 d had been contributed by Essex to the different Festivals , which gave the high average of £ 1 , 725 14 s 7 d per annum , a sum of which fchey might justly be very proud .
The Provincial Grand Master then addressed the Lodge , expressing the great pleasure ifc afforded him to have fche opportunity of doing so at this their annual meeting . The motions just carried really conveyed the history of their work during the past year . Ifc was a great pleasure to recall fche events of his history as Provincial Grand Master . He thought he
commenced his Masonic work in their Province of Essex by the consecration of the Blackwater Lodge , at Maldon , soon after his installation at Colchester , and was glad to find it so prosperous . The steady increase of the year was fully shown by the figures given in the different reports . When he first presided over the Province there were twenty Lodges , now , although only one had
been added during the year ] ust concluded , they had 38—then there were about 900 members , now , close on 2 , 000 , which was eminently satisfactory , as , while they had increased in numbers fchey had in no way fallen off in efficiency . As regarded their unanimity he felt they might adopt the motto of the neighbouring municipality of Chelmsford : " Many minds , one heart . " He
felt they ought to be extremely grateful to the members of their Board of General Purposes for the work they had carried out , and in connection with the first paragraph of their Eeporfc he might say how great was the satisfaction to the whole Province when it was learnt that their Deputy had been promoted ; he felt all congratulated Judge Philbrick on his well-merited
preferment , and trusted he might long be spared to serve his Queen and his country . They had lost some of their most valued friends , and he regretted to find many well-known faces absent this year , still they had young Masons growing up around them , and he trusted they would enable the county to continue to
maintain its position among the foremost Provinces of the country . He thanked the members of his Province for having so well supported him on two distinct occasions when he had taken the chair ab Fesbivals on behalf of bhe Charities , and for their general support of the different funds .
As regarded the question of arrears , ifc was curious to see some Lodges wholly clear , others moderately so , bufc others making a particularly bad show in this respect , and he would suggest , for the credit of the Lodges , that some determined effort should be made by those at fault to alter the exisbing sfcabe of affairs . It would even be betber to remove bhe names of bhose much in arrear from bhe books . He also directed attenbion to
the necessity for every candidate to receive a copy of the Book of Constitutions , and asked Worshipful Masters to see this was done . His lordship referred to other items of Provincial interest , and expressed regret that he had been unable to attend the centenary celebration of one of his Lodges , which occurred some short time back , when he was at a great distance from them and quite unable to attend .
He felt the thanks of the Province were due for the hearty welcome accorded them in that town that day . They were extremely glad to have the ladies present with them on thafc occasion , and he had appreciabed how much the innovation he had sanctioned had met with approval when he saw how the ladies were being escorted from fche station ; but he considered the
presence of ladies was only permissible on special occasions , as he felt bheir ceremonies should not be hurried through or curtailed by the knowledge that ladies were present waiting for the members . With a hearty expression of thanks for the large abtendance presenb bhafc day his lordship resumed his seat amid applause . The Scrutineers who had been appointed to count the votes
for the election of four members of the Provincial Board of General Purposes gave their report , and the following were declared duly elected : Bros . Thomas Lloyd W . M . 2561 P . M . 2342 P . P . G . Chaplain ( 95 votes ) , J . J . C . Turner P . M . 51 P . P . S . G . W . ( 92 votes ) , J . H . Salter P . M . 2342 P . P . J . G . W . ( 82 votes ) , and W . E . Dring P . M . 2318 P . P . S . G . D . ( 73 votes ) . The only other candidate was Bro . W . D . Merritt P . M . 1000 P . P . S . G . W ., who received 70 votes .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Essex.
ESSEX .
THE annual gathering of this Provincial Grand Lodge , which took place on Wednesday , at Maldon , proved one of the mosfc successful meetings of its kind ib has been our fortune to participate in , and the way in which the whole of the arrangements of the day were carried through was nofc only eminently satisfactory , but proved thafc the members of the two local Lodges , the St . Peter , No . 1024 , and the Blackwater , No . 1977 ,
had worked very hard in their efforts to ensure the comfort and enjoyment of the large number of Brethren and Ladies—for the annual banquet was graced by the presence of a large number of the fair sex—who visited the quaint old town . Happily the weather was fine , although there were reports of heavy rain as near as Clacton , Manningfcree , and other places ; in fact , everything seemed to combine to mark the Essex meeting of 1896 as a happy and successful one .
The Provincial Grand Master the Earl of Warwick and Brooke entered the Lodge Eoom with a large number of present and past Provincial Officers in procession , and , the party having been photographed , afc once opened his Lodge , he and his Deputy His Honour Judge Philbrick , Q . C , G . Eeg ., being duly saluted .
The mmubes of the last meeting having been confirmed , letters of regret were read from several distinguished members of the Order who were unable to accept the invitation to attend Provincial Grand Lodge . The roll of the Province was called , representatives of each Lodge answering , after which the Deputy rose to present the Eeport of the Board of General Purposes ,
which he prefaced by saying the Provincial Grand Lodge might be congratulated on having a body of indefatigable Brebhren who had carefully examined into the affairs of the Province , and had reported so favourably as bhey had done . Essex had nob only maintained its position , but had improved it , as they now had 1 , 939 members in 38 Lodges , against 1 , 877 last year , an increase
of something over 60 , and he thought they might derive satisfaction from the facts given . The Province had been singularly unanimous during the year , no matter of dispute requiring the attention of the authorities , and in connection with this and other matters all must recognise how much they owed to the truly Masonic rule of the Earl of Warwick , who , thirteen years
since , as Lord Brooke , was installed as their Provincial Grand Master , since when they had each year met with increased success , and had , above all , maintained the true principle of Masonic Charity so well that they need not shrink from comparison with any other similar body of Masons in the country . Bro . Philbrick drew attention to the first paragraph of the report , which , being of a personal character , was hardly
within the scope of his remarks ; noted the large number of Brethren in arrears , and hoped an effort would be made to remedy this mosfc undesirable feature in their returns , as the well-being of their Lodges depended on due order and regularity , which could not be possible if arrears prevailed ; mentioned the different grants ifc was intended to make , and then proposed the adoption of the Eeport , which 'motion was duly seconded , and unanimously agreed to .
The following is the Eeport of the Board : — 1 . Since the last meeting of Provincial Grand Lodge our esteemed Deputy Provincial Grand Master has been appointed County Court Judge of an important district in the West of England . In offering to His Honour Judge Philbrick hearty congratulations , the Board desire , on behalf of the Province , to express the hope that he may live long to enjoy his well-earned appointment .
2 . The proposed arrangements for the reception of Provincial Grand Lodge , at Maldon , on the 15 th July , were submitted and approved , and the Board trust that they will tend to the success of the meeting . 3 . The accounts for the financial year , which had been previously audited by a sub-committee appointed for the purpose , were submitted , and afterpayment of all out-standing claims show a balance in hand of £ 163 5 s 9 d on the General Account , and of £ 29 15 s 4 d on the Charity Account . A statement of receipts and expenditure is appended .
4 . The Boturns from the Lodges show that during the past year there have been 151 Initiations , and 71 Joining Members . Against this , there have been 85 Resignations ; the losses by death have been 34 , whilst 41 Brethren have been struck off the Books of their respective Lodges , leaving the present strength of the Province 1 , 939 Members , against 1 , 877 last year . The Board regret to note that the Brethren returned as " in arrear " have increased from 152 last year to 190 this year , which is equivalent to ten per cent , of the total membership of the Province .
5 . The Board recommend that , with a view to minimise the work of Secretaries of Lodges and to ensure greater uniformity in making the Annual Beturns , books of uniform pattern be supplied , at a cost to each Lodge not exceeding 10 s , instead of the loose sheets which have hitherto been in use .
6 . The Board recommend that the sum of £ 25 be paid towards the expenses of the reception of Provincial Grand Lodge , which on this occasion is in the hands of a Joint Committee of the St . Peter ' s Lodge , No . 1024 , and the Blackwater Lodge , No . 1977 .
7 . The Board also recommend the payment of the following grants : — ( A ) From the General Fund : A Donation of Twenty Guineas to the Boyal Masonic Institution for Boys , a like sum to the Boyal Masonic Institution for Girls ; Five Guineas to the Scholarship Fund of the Boyal Masonic Institution for Boys ; and Two Guineas to each of the following Voluntary Schools of the Borough of Maldon , viz . ;—The British , the National , and the St . Mary ' s National Schools , ( B ) From the Charity Fund : A Donation of Twenty Guineas to the Boyal Masonic Benevolent Institution .
Essex.
8 . The Board recommend that as a well-deserved compliment to the Brethren who have done such good service to the Province as Charity Representatives , their portraits be inserted in the Calender for 1897 . 9 . Tho Board regret to record that the Province has lost by death an unusual number of prominent Brethren during the past twelve months . The
long list on page 21 of the Calender has been supplemented within the past few days by the deaths of W . Bros . James Howell P . M . 1343 P . P . G . Std . Br ., and Eobert Jennings P . M . 1437 P . P . G . Swd . Br ., both of whom were very active members of Provincial Grand Lodge , particularly in support of the Charities . Signed on behalf of the Board ,
JOHN J . 0 . TURNEE , CHAIRMAN . 27 th June 1896 . The Eeporfc of fche Charity Committee was next presented and adopted , this detailing what had been done during the year
with the votes of the Province , and on behalf of the great central funds ; during the six years 1891-96 no less a sum than £ 10 , 354 7 s 6 d had been contributed by Essex to the different Festivals , which gave the high average of £ 1 , 725 14 s 7 d per annum , a sum of which fchey might justly be very proud .
The Provincial Grand Master then addressed the Lodge , expressing the great pleasure ifc afforded him to have fche opportunity of doing so at this their annual meeting . The motions just carried really conveyed the history of their work during the past year . Ifc was a great pleasure to recall fche events of his history as Provincial Grand Master . He thought he
commenced his Masonic work in their Province of Essex by the consecration of the Blackwater Lodge , at Maldon , soon after his installation at Colchester , and was glad to find it so prosperous . The steady increase of the year was fully shown by the figures given in the different reports . When he first presided over the Province there were twenty Lodges , now , although only one had
been added during the year ] ust concluded , they had 38—then there were about 900 members , now , close on 2 , 000 , which was eminently satisfactory , as , while they had increased in numbers fchey had in no way fallen off in efficiency . As regarded their unanimity he felt they might adopt the motto of the neighbouring municipality of Chelmsford : " Many minds , one heart . " He
felt they ought to be extremely grateful to the members of their Board of General Purposes for the work they had carried out , and in connection with the first paragraph of their Eeporfc he might say how great was the satisfaction to the whole Province when it was learnt that their Deputy had been promoted ; he felt all congratulated Judge Philbrick on his well-merited
preferment , and trusted he might long be spared to serve his Queen and his country . They had lost some of their most valued friends , and he regretted to find many well-known faces absent this year , still they had young Masons growing up around them , and he trusted they would enable the county to continue to
maintain its position among the foremost Provinces of the country . He thanked the members of his Province for having so well supported him on two distinct occasions when he had taken the chair ab Fesbivals on behalf of bhe Charities , and for their general support of the different funds .
As regarded the question of arrears , ifc was curious to see some Lodges wholly clear , others moderately so , bufc others making a particularly bad show in this respect , and he would suggest , for the credit of the Lodges , that some determined effort should be made by those at fault to alter the exisbing sfcabe of affairs . It would even be betber to remove bhe names of bhose much in arrear from bhe books . He also directed attenbion to
the necessity for every candidate to receive a copy of the Book of Constitutions , and asked Worshipful Masters to see this was done . His lordship referred to other items of Provincial interest , and expressed regret that he had been unable to attend the centenary celebration of one of his Lodges , which occurred some short time back , when he was at a great distance from them and quite unable to attend .
He felt the thanks of the Province were due for the hearty welcome accorded them in that town that day . They were extremely glad to have the ladies present with them on thafc occasion , and he had appreciabed how much the innovation he had sanctioned had met with approval when he saw how the ladies were being escorted from fche station ; but he considered the
presence of ladies was only permissible on special occasions , as he felt bheir ceremonies should not be hurried through or curtailed by the knowledge that ladies were present waiting for the members . With a hearty expression of thanks for the large abtendance presenb bhafc day his lordship resumed his seat amid applause . The Scrutineers who had been appointed to count the votes
for the election of four members of the Provincial Board of General Purposes gave their report , and the following were declared duly elected : Bros . Thomas Lloyd W . M . 2561 P . M . 2342 P . P . G . Chaplain ( 95 votes ) , J . J . C . Turner P . M . 51 P . P . S . G . W . ( 92 votes ) , J . H . Salter P . M . 2342 P . P . J . G . W . ( 82 votes ) , and W . E . Dring P . M . 2318 P . P . S . G . D . ( 73 votes ) . The only other candidate was Bro . W . D . Merritt P . M . 1000 P . P . S . G . W ., who received 70 votes .