Prov. G. Lodge Of Hampshire And The Isle Of Wight.

and acted as Pro Grand Master , giving' his assistance to their Grand Master the Prince of Wales . He had now been called to the high office of Lord Lieutenant , which had many responsibilities attached to it , and he was

sure that they had every reason to hope that he would so discharge those duties as to meet with general approbation . He was sure he would do his utmost to deserve the confidence which had been reposed in him , and that he would

be able , with his talent and impartiality to well discharge the duties of the very high office which had been entrusted to him . They all regretted the death of the Marquis of Winchester , who had for so many years fulfilled the high

duties of Lord Lieutenant in a manner which gave general satisfaction . But as a vacancy had occurred , he was sure it would give them great pleasure to agree to a vote of coneratulation to their eminent brother the Earl of Carnarvon ,

on succeeding to the position . Bro . Wyatt , in seconding , mentioned that their Provincial Grand Master initiated the Earl of Carnarvon into Freemasonry . Bro . Le Feuvre , in supporting the resolution , said the Earl of Carnarvon was

esteemed by all of them as Pro Grand Master and occupying a very high position in the county , and he hoped that as his lordship was leaving for another latitude , to

recruit his health , he would return before many months in improved health . The resolution was carried . The Provincial Grand Master then appointed and invested the Prov . Grand Officers for the ensuing year , as follows : —

Bro . J . E . Le Feuvre 130 ... ... D . P . G . M . T . K . Williams 257 ... ... S . W . G . F . W . Mortimer 1112 ... ... J . W . tov . Dr . Ring 1705 \ nhttnl « n .

Kev . J . U . Wilton 1373 ... ... J * " - "" A . E . Holbrook 309 ... ... Registrar R . J . Rastrick 1069 ... ... Treasurer Edgar Goble 309 ... ... Secretary Dr . A . Knight . Prescotfc 1971 ... ) Q . _ , D . W . Preston 2158 \ Semor Deacons

R . Dampier-Child 1869 ... ... ) T . _ A . Greenham 1884 J Jumor Deacon 3 W . H . Jacob 76 ... ... ... Superintendent of Works W . Miles 1776 ... ... ... Director of Ceremonies W . Berry 1789 ... ... ... Deputy Dir . of Cer .

R . W . Downing 903 ... ... Assist . Dir . of Cers . R . Glasspool 723 ... ... Sword Bearer T . H . I . Petherick 551 *) _ . - , „ D . O . Hobbs 1461 \ Standai * d Carers

F . Rutland 35 ... ... ... Organist Rev . A . A . Headley 309 ... ... Assistant Secretary H . J . Thatcher 694 ... ... Pursuivant R . L . Roberton 2169 ... ... Assistant Pursuivant G . R . King 151 •) W . G . P . Gilbert 257 ... ... I

H . P . HolIey 487 \ * A R . Pocock 928 I-Stewards W . T . Dupree 1069 I E . Pratt 1428 ... ... ... J J . ExeII 487 } _ . R . Eames 309 j Tylera

Prior to closing Grand Lodge the Provincial Grand Master congratulated the brethren ou the success which had attended Freemasonry in that Province during the present year . He thanked the brethren of the province most

sincerely and heartily for the very liberal assistance which they had given him when presiding at the Festival of the Benevolent Institution . They had not a great length of time , but they came forward in such a loyal and liberal

spirit that the amount of subscriptions at the Festival was larger than had ever been known before , and therefore he thought there was every reason to congratulate the province upon the very liberal way in which it had come forward

, and upon the very handsome way in which it had rallied round him on that occasion . He also congratulated them on ihe manner in which Freemasonry was flourishing . It was a great responsibility for a Provincial Grand Master

when asked to recommend new Lodges . He thought it was not advisable for Masons to be in too great a hurry to constitute new Lodges , unless they were perfectly sure fteyhad good grounds for believing they would

^ flourish . They should start new Lodges not merely for the sake of holding office , but with a desire to propagate the advantages of Freemasonry . He hoped they would think over such a matter as that , and not take action

unless they believed it would be to the advantage of the j ^ aft . He took a little time to consider these applications , tfo thought it right to make full inquiry and to satisf y , , r > -- --o— — —« . — - « . » "'> i « "j MJUV . 1 . uu ortwoiy oimself

on these points , and he hoped they would give him credit for not throwing any obstacle in the way if he was satisfied that a new Lodge would be for the advantage of '" e Craft . Two new Lodges would be constituted in the

Prov. G. Lodge Of Hampshire And The Isle Of Wight.

Province daring the present year , and they wonld then have nearly attained the number of fifty Lodgos . Of course this involved considerable trenching upon the time and atteution of the brethren holding office . He could

only hope that the constitution of new Lodges would not encourage the admission of those who were not likely to be a credit to the Order . It was desirable that only those should be recommended who would be of advantage to the

Craft and likely to become valuable and zealous members of their Order . He urged the brethren of the various Lodges not to be in too great a hurry to add to their numbers , but to be careful to add to the efficiency of the

members . He heartily congratulated them upon the manner in which Freemasonry was progressing in that Province , as it was in the country in general . The banquet , which followed , was presided over by the

P . G . M ., who was supported by a number of his Officers and Bro . F . Binckes , Secretary of the Masonic Boys' School , the visiting brethren including Bro . Edwin Low , an old P . M . of the Phoenix Lodge . The catering was entrusted to Bro . T . W . Scaddan , of the Grosvenor Hotel , Southsea ,

who provided an excellent bill of fare , and the repast was admirably served under his supervision , the wines being of superior quality . The usual Loyal and Masonic toasts were

honoured , and Bro . Eve , in responding for Grand Lodge , warmly thanked the brethren of Hampshire for having rendered such valuable assistance in returning him as Grand Treasurer of England .

Holiday Haunts.—Torquay.

HOLIDAY HAUNTS . —TORQUAY .

( Continued from page 106 ) . IN fulfilment of my promise last week , let me give you a few more jottings from this delightful spot , the very ne plus ultra of quiet and healthful pleasure . Before starting from town , happening to mention to an acquaintance where we intended going , he raised hi 8 hands in something like dismay , and exclaimed " What ! Torquay

in the summer time ! Never heard of such a thing . My dear fellows , don't go ; you'll be broiled , " and a lot more of the same rubbish . But the " dear fellows" did go , and here they are still , the only regret being that each day brings us nearer to the unkind fate of having to say good-bye to holiday for another year .

Talk of being " broiled , " why the " Frying-pan row , " as Fleet-streefc is locally called , is not nearly so scorching as its namesake in London , where " gentlemen of the Press" mostly do congregate , and the pavements of which are sometimes so hot that it is no exaggeration to say you could cook an omelette on them .

I mentioned in my last a singular proclivity of the Torquay folk for christening their streets and public places after those most familiar to us in London . Not that there is much appropriateness in the nomenclature , for the Pimlico of Torquay is a slum compared with that on the Thames-side ; " London-bridge" and the "New Gut" do

not at all resemble their prototypes ; Fleet-street and the Strand are more in keeping , inasmuch as they form a continuous line , as do our own thoroughfares of those names ; Belgravia is the fashionable quarter of the town , and is thus aptly named ; and there are a great many other localities , most of which were ' •cockneyised " in name

long before Torquay assumed the stately aud " Queen -like dimensions it has now attained . I should like , before recounting any more of our adventures , to say a word about the town itself , and the sort of people who are in it , so far as a visitor is able to judge from a temporary sojourn . Well , then , I am bound to say that although

Torquay , like many other seaside resorts , depends largely for its trade and general prosperity upon visitors , there is none of that combination on the part of the natives to "fleece" strangers such aa we find at some other places . I declare I have paid five and six guineas weekly for apartments at Rarusgate and Margate , the comfort and

convenience of which were not to be compared with that we are enjoying here at one-qnarter the amount . Although we found everything at " the Royal" first-rate , hotel bills run np , and so we were gnided by sentiments of economy to engage apartments , with which we are immensely pleased . The tradesmen do not " stick it on" to

visitors , nor charge them an extra twopence or threepence per pound for meat , and advanced prices pro rata for all the other commodities that are necessary to existence . So I can say from personal experiencewhich is corroborated by that of others who have remained here longer tbau we have—that Torquay , whilst possessing the unrivalled

charms that have been so lavished upon her by nature , with a climate which is most equable all the year round , perfect sanitary arrangements , abuudant means of " getting about , " and an ever changing round of amusement and relaxation , is rendered still more enjoyable by the fact which I have considered it my duty to relate that ,, with

respect to lodging aud living , oue can exist here most economically , without fear of being " fleeced " by exacting tradesmen , or eaten up by the " lodging-house cat . " Sauntering the other afternoon around the lovgly terraced gardens of the Imperial Hotel , from which the whole sweep of Torbay can be

commanded at a glance , Bro . S and I wore dlscnssnii * the next trip that we should select from amongst the many attractions of the neighbourhood . Not being quite able to arrive at a decisive

conclusion , it bethought us to test the quality of Bro . Hassey ' s catering , and unquestionably the result proved the correctness of our judgment , in that one respect , at any rate . There is an air of elegance aud refinement in all the arrangements of this grand hotel that ia