Masonry And The Lord Mayor Of London.

MASONRY AND THE LORD MAYOR OF LONDON .

Alfred Newton Lodgre , No . 2686 . A GRAND ENTERTAINMENT AT THE MANSION HOUSE .

WE have it on the high authority of Bro . Sir J . B . Monckton ; one of the- oldest Past Grand Wardens on the roll of the Grand Lodge of England—his appointment dating back to 1 S 85—that a record' in Freemasonry was created on Saturday-, when the regular meeting of this Lodge was held by dispensation of H . R . H .

•the'Prince of Wales M . W . G . M . at"the home of the chief magistrate of the City , Bro . Sir . Alfred Newton , Bart ., Lord Mayor of London ; and there is really no doubt that Brother Monckton was perfectly correct in the -opinion he then expressed , and which was fully endorsed by the brilliant array of Grand Officers then present , and others who , by age or experience , were in a position to form an estimate of the situation .

Established 5 lessithap three years back the Alfred Newton Lodge has indeedma'de' a name for itself . Pa ra ' phrasing Shakespeare we may say that- ' -it was born to greatness ; it- lias-achieved-greatness ; and it has had greatness thrust-upon it . Its ; first Worshipful Master , the present Lo ' rdMayor of London , after whom-the-Lodge is-named , admitted as one- 'of his earliest-initiates his son Mr . H . Kottingham

Newton , » and that-Brother was installed thirds Master of the Lodge at probably the- youngest " Masonic " age at which' a- Brother has ever risen to the dignity of the chair . We will-not repeat-what we thought of that proceeding at the time , we are-quite ' -content ' - ' -to now take things as we find them , to base an opinion on actual " results ,

and as a consequence to heartily congratulate the W . M :, the Past Masters ; and every member of the Lodge , on the name it won fot itself by Saturday's meeting—a name and a' record-it will probably enjoy for . ' very many years to come ; for it has resulted- from such a- happy and varied sequence of events as seem : hardly likely- to Tecur within the experience of anyone now living .

It wiH'be remembered that at the installation of his srin as

W . M . of the Lodge the Lord Mayor expressed' his intention of inviting the Brethren to hold one of their meetings at the- Mansion House , . and this invitation was most loyally fulfilled *' on "' Saturday , when a party , exceeding two hundred Brethren , and including many more Grand' Officers than ever before assembled at a meeting of a private Lodge ' , met' under the" p ' fesidency of the W . M : Bro . H : K . Newton , Barrister-at-law , B . A ., D . L ., and carried out all the duties of the Lodge in a most masterly and perfect manner .

The Lodge was held in the old- ball room of the Mansion House , and after the usual' preliminaries three gentlemen were balloted for as candidates for initiation ,. and ; unanimously , approved of . Mr . F . Newton Husbands , proposed by the W . M .,. and seconded by the Lord ' Mayor , was ' first received atid ~ initiated as far as "die Obligation * . Then Mr ; R . J ' . Reuter and A . B : V > Taffs—the" former

proposed by Bro . T . G . Heighington' J-. Ds . j- and seconded , by- Bro . W . Freeman ; the latter by the same two Brethren in opposite positions—were also admitted and initiated , the ' work being comp'let ' ed fb ' r allthree candidates at the one time , and the Charge after initiation being- rendered by the W . M :, who afterwards" closed his Lodge , going-through the whole of his-work in-perfect-and'correct style .

Bro . A . J . Naughton I . P . M . proposed that the hearty thanks ^ of the members be voted tothe Lord Mayor , for his kindness in inviting and entertaining the Lodge at the Mansion' House . This was seconded by Bro . J . J . Thomas P . G . Std . Br : , and- unanimously approved .

The Lord Mayor acknowledged the vote , saying it-had afforded him great gratification to inyite the Brethren there that night , and he further took the opportunity , of congratulating the Worshipful Master on the admirable manner in ; which'the-ceremonies- 'had been worked that day :. ... ... The Brethren then adjourned to 1 the Egyptian ; Hall ) -where the banquet was served , the W . M . . occupying the chair , supported on

his right , by his father the Lord . Mayor of London , , and . on his left by LP . M . Bro . A . J . Naughton . We need hardly , pause to praise the banquet—those , who have , had the pleasure of enjoying the hospitality of the Mansion House know full well nothing , is . neglected there , while for those who have . not there is the long-record of past princely entertainments , of world wide fame ,. to guide them ; . suffice it to say the traditions of the . past were well sustained ¦ on this

occasion . After grace by the Grand Chaplain the W . M . said it was his privilege K as well as his first duty , to propose the toast of the Queen and the Craft . Of Her Majesty they cried" God bless her , " of their beloved Craft they said " God .. preserve it" . Every Mason felt in his heart the value of the connection of the : Q . ueen and the Craft , and prayed that the Great Architect of the Universe might . cement it , and prosper it , until time with us should ' be no more . , .

The W . M . ; -felt no words of . his were heeded to ensure a hearty reception on the mention of the name of their Grand Master , the Prince of Wales . " The deeds of the Grand Master tended to show the ' interest His . Royal Highness-took in the actual work of the Craft .

It was with very great pleasure the W . M . brought to the notice of the Brethren the toast of the Pro Grand Master , ithe Deputy Grand Master , and ' the rest of the Grand Officers , present a ' nd past . In the presence of so many Grand Officers he was proud to give

expression to those sentiments which were in the hearts of every Freemason towards the Grand Officers , whom they all honoured and respected . He asked the Grand Officers to believe that the sentiments of the Craft towards them were really in inverse ratio to the length of his remarks .

Bro . Sir John B . Monckton P . G . W . responded . The duty had devolved unon him by reason of the old age that was fast falling upon him , but he had the satisfaction of knowing there were at least " two" older Masons in the Hall than himself . The present

Masonry And The Lord Mayor Of London.

was ari age of records , but he thought all records had been beaten that night , for they had in that Hall , in the Chair of the Lodge , a Brother who was universally respected , and on his right his own father , the Lord Mayor of London . They might work it out any way they liked , but they could not beat the record created that night . As Grand'Officers they had to commend the Worshipful Master on the excellent work he had performed , on his khowledee of the ritual ,

his ability , and his lack of excessive display ; personally he congratulated him most heartily , and he felt all the Grand Officers present were very pleased indeed to take part in the Lodge at the historic Mansion House .- The members initiated that night in the old ball-room ought never to forget their admission into the Craft under such special auspices ; they had indeed had such a start in Freemasonry as very few men enjoyed .

Bro . A . J . Naughton I . P . M . next assumed the gavel .- The toast he had to propose was that of their worthy Worshipful Master . It having been admitted , by acclamation , that the Lodge work of the evening was the best ever witnessed by the-, Grand- Officers and other Brethren present , remarks-on that head we ' re hardly necessary from the Immediate Past Master . The earnestness of the W . M .

irr the ' work-of the'Craft-Was the-same with all he undertook . He . had astonished him as a master of organisation , a glutton for woric , and one who always proved himself equal to anything he undertook : He had been anxiously looking forward to that evening , and hoping , that , the Worshipful Master might be imhis place , despite the cruel attack that had recently been made upon him , and discharge tlie ~ dutie ' s of his Office as he was so well able to do .

The W . M . replied . He had looked forward to the work in Lodge that evening with a considerable amount of trepidation , knowing he was to be' honoured bv the presence of so many Grand Officers , but the trepidation had proved to be unnecessary in view of the kindness with which he had been received . Had the Immediate Past Master confined himself to the truth he mi ght possibly have been able to- meet it , but such unalloyed flattery as had fallen from Bro . Naughton was beyond his powers .

The W . M . now took the opportunity of proposing the health of the' Lord Mayor , by whose courtesy and kindrfess they we're dining there , in that world renowned ancient Hall .: , ' . The Lord Mayor was most enthusiastically received , and * in reply-said he should indeed be of a very phlegmatic disposition were he unmoved at the very hearty reception . of the toasr of his health .

It was undoubtedly a grand position in which they had placed him , arid * they might believe him it afforded" him the greatest satisfaction to receive the members of the Craft who had honoured his . son that evening by accepting his invitation to the Lodge . The dear old Mansion House had seen many ' notable gatherings , but he doubted if it had ever witnessed such-an assembly as that- evening ' s : He had

been very deeply moved at the way in which the ceremonies of the Lodge had been carried through that day . He was sorry , to " , say he was a- ' Mason- of many- years standing , and had assisted at many such assemblies as the present ; but he could truthfully say he had never seen such an array of distinguished Masons , or work more effectively rendered : The Master -was well supported in the Lodge by his Officers , and there was a feeling- of fraternal emulation

animating the Lodge which spoke well for the continued prosperity of their-Order . What a-wonderful Order theirs was—riot swayed by religion , politics , or party feeling ; and they were all justified : in feeling proud of the position it occupied . He believed that as MasOn ' s they could-perform a great duty to the country and to tlieir

countrymen ,, and . they might depend upon it it rested with each one of them to eschew anything like personal aggrandisement , and work rather'for the general good of the whole bbdy . The continued advance of the Order was . a riiatter to be proud of , and if' he had in the slightest degree advanced the best principles of the Craft he felt exceedingly proud .

The W . M . then gave the toast of the initiates . It was one of the most pleasing duties a Worshipful Master could have to discharge . It was their custom to entertain ; the newly admitted Brethren , but it was" riot always so , for he had found a reference in the diary of their late lamented Bro ., Ashmole , under' date * of nth . March 1682 , to the following effect : "We all dyned at Tile

Halfe Moone Taverne at a noble dinner prepared at the charge of the New-accepted Masons : " He found further that the new initiates of those days were expected to present a number of pairs of gloves to the wives of the members ; but all that Was changed , arid , if he might say so , the glove was now on the other arm . Addressing the initiates the W . M . said they had been admitted members of a-great

and powerful ' Institution—how great and powerful had not yet been iriade public- —and'lie trusted they would ever act iri conformity with the-princip les ; it ' inculcated , and that , in the words ' of a Brother who flourished in the middle of the last century , each would-say to himself . " I shall ever maintain a strict friendship for the whole of the Fraternitv , and always be glad when it may fall in my power to do them any service . "

We do riot know whether it was the peculiar surroundings of the place , or whether ¦ oratbty is infectious , but certain it was the three Initiates replied in a far more fluent and consistent' mariner than we have ever heard before . Certainly we have heard better prepared replies from individual members , but never have we . listened to three consecutive responses equal to those of the Alfred Newton Initiates ' on Saturday .

Bro . Husbands considered it a very great honour to be allowed to become a member of the ancient Society of Freemasons . He had certainly been very greatly struck with the beautiful phraseology with which he had been admitted , and the Igreat impressiveness with' which the Worshipful Master delivered it ; and could truly say

he considered it a great honour that he should have been initiated in so ancient a place as the Mansion House . He hoped that some day he might attain to the proud position then occupied by the Worshipful Master . Pro . Reuter said tie had . been asked to be ' -short—and' sweet .