Consecration Of The James Terry Lodge, No. 2372.

Seven brethren were proposed as joining members , and the Secretary , Bro . Ty deman , proposed his son as a candidate for initiation . The lodge was then closed , ancl the brethren adjourned to the Four Swans Hotel , Waltham Cross , where an excellent banquet was admirably served , and thoroughly enjoyed by all present . The usual toasts were subsequently given . " The Queen and the Craft " having been honoured ,

The WORSHIPFUL MASTER gave " H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , M . W . G . M ., " and said that as they had honoured the Sovereign of the country , they would now honour the Sovereign of the Craft , without whose sanction their lodge would not have been able to meet . They were therefore extremely indebted to his Royal Highness for his sanction to the recommendation of the Provincial Grand Master , and so long as the lodge existed and his Royal Hig hness remained their Grand Master , so long would his name be honoured with respect and esteem .

The WORSHIPFUL MASTER then proposed " The D . G . M . ancl the rest of the Grand Officers , Present and Past , " and said they were all aware that one title in connection with tbe toast had had to be omitted on account of the much deplored death of the Pro Grand Master . Who his successor would be they did not know , but it would be difficult to find a brother such as he . In the Deputy Grand Master

they had a brother who presided over thc largest province under the Grand Master —West Lancashire—which included 104 lodges . Of the rest of the Grand Officers , there were present that evening their Provincial Grand Master and one of the P . G . S . B . ' s , who was the Secretary of the Girls' School . By permission of the Provincial Grand Master , he would couple with the toast the name of his friend and colleague , Bro . Hedges .

Bro . HEDGES , P . G . S . B ., in reply , said he little expected that in the presence of so distinguished a Grand Officer as their Provincial Grand Master he should have been selected for the bonour of responding . He could only say , on behalf of the Grand Officers , that he ventured his sincere acknowledgments forthe warm manner in which they had accepted the toast so ably given by the W . M . As a very humble representative of that body , he was grateful for their reception of the toast , and for the way in which they had received his name with it .

The WORSHIPFUL MASTER then said he was about to introduce an extremely personal toast , and in introducing it he must remark that it was painful to one who wished to say all that , he could in favour of a person , to know that that person was present . He was certain that not only in that room , but throughout the county , the name of the brother whose health he would propose was one well respected , highly esteemed , and devoutly revered . It was their Bro . Halsey ,

Prov . G . Master , who had done their lodge the honour of attending for tbe purpose of consecrating it and of bringing out his 21 st bantling . That day they celebrated the coming of age—so far as the numbers were concerned—of the province , and the day previous their Prov . Grand Master celebrated his silver wedding . They would remember , and Bro . Halsey would remember , an event which be was certain their Prov . G . Master had never had occasion to regret ,

so let them hope that as the consecration of the lodge followed , the Prov . Grand Master would be spared for another 25 years to celebrate his golden wedding , and also to be present the day after to celebrate the silver wedding of the lodge . They desired to thank the Prov . Grand Master for the honour conferred in bringing the lodge into existence , and for the support rendered to the province by an impartial discharge of the duties devolving upon him . It would be sufficient for him ( the

W . M . ) to say that to know the Prov . Grand Master was to respect him , and the more they knew of him the more they desired to know . Bro . T . F . HALSEY , M . P ., Prov . G . Master said he felt quite overwhelmed at the cordiality of the reception given him . He did not wish to throw any discord into the meeting , but if it would be possible to do such a thing with such an old friend as the W . M ., he felt he would rather do so upon the present occasion ,

because the W . M . had taken the bread out his mouth by alluding to certain subjects , such as the majority of the province and his own silver wedding . However , this he could say most truly , that it gave him great pleasure to see the . provinceinsucha flourishing condition , and to feel they had—as their W . M . had pointed out—arrived at their majority when he had consecrated the 21 st lodge . The W . M . was kind enough to allude to an event which happened in his domestic life and

expressed the hope that he might celebrate his golden wedding and the silver wedding of the lodge , but he trusted that started as the lodge was by the W . M ., and supported as it was by such a goodly array , when the time came for it to celebrate its silver wedding there would be such a gathering as the present . He must thank them for the cordial manner in which he had been received , and as he had been received on every occasion that he had come amongst them . There was

no rose without a thorn , and there was one drawback in the great increase in the number of lodges , which was that , as the numbers increased so of course it became less in the power of the Prov . Grand Master to attend so frequently . It had given him pleasure to attend , not onl y to consecrate that lodge , bu t to meet the brethren , for living as he did in the extreme side of the province , he could not meet them as aften as he could wish , but he hoped at no distant date to

pay another visit to that lodge , the King Harold , the Gresham , the Broxbourne , or others which seemed to be springing up so numerously in that neighbourhood . It was difficult to say anything fresh on those occasions , but he would repeat what he had said before , that there was one great point in the increase of the lodges , that it was not a fictitious increase—not one established at the expense of others . There was room for all to exist and flourish , and he trusted they would continue to

do that , and that the only rivalry would be whether the old would be outstripped by the young in doing that which ought to be the foremost duty of every Mason , and which had been recognised as the foremost duty in that province—that of supporting the Charities , and showing that Masonry was a reality and not only a name . He trusted that would always be the sentiment of every Mason in the province , and so long as that feeling predominated he had no fear for Hertfordshire .

The WORSHIPFUL M ASTER , in proposing " The Deputy Prov . G . M ., and Prov . Grand Officers , Present and Past , " included in it "The installing Master , " and said the Prov . Grand Master was so kind and considerate that he generally made way for the Deputy Prov . Grand Master to take a portion of the work , and that day he had done so to enable the Deputy to give them a proof of his ability . It was not the first time he ( the W . M . ) had been installed , but he felt that Bro . Lake had

installed him as well , if not better , than any Master who had previously performed that duty . They were indebted to the rest of the Prov . Grand Officers for their attendance , especially the Prov . Grand Chaplain for his admirable oration , which he hoped they would be able to read and study at their leisure , and derive benefit from it . There was also the Prov . Grand Secretary , who had to follow a most admirable one in Bro . Lake . They were glad to have such a mentor as Bro . Bullock

to keep them under his gentle lash of kindness . He was also , proud to see the Secretary of one of the oldest lodges , Bro . Riley , who so kindly acted as I . G . that evening . There was to be a testimonial presented to that brother , and there was none more worthy of it . In Bro . Keyser they had one whom he need hardly say was par excellence , a Mason in act , word , and deed . In those who had assisted they had a body of whom any province might well be proud , and that lodge was right glad to welcome them .

Bro . G . E . LAKE , D . P . G . M ., said the toast for which he had to respond was a very comprehensive one , and one that would tax the powers of such a Demosthenes as their Worship ful Master . He hoped they would accept his poor efforts as coming from tbe heart , and as being well meant towards Masonry in general , and that lodge in particular . It was with much pleasure he had been present on that auspicious occasion , and was grateful to the Provincial Grand Master for permiting him to occupy the position of Installing Master . It was well-known to him in what esteem thc Worshipful Master was held in the province , for he had been

Consecration Of The James Terry Lodge, No. 2372.

known for many years for the energy he hacl thrown into Masonry , ancl for the way he had fulfilled the various duties . It was unique that both the Provincial Grand Wardens , one of the Provincial Grand Chaplains , the Deacons , Secretary , Registrar , and both Standard Bearers were present , for it was rarely , indeed , that so large a number could be got together . He hoped the lodge would consider it a special compliment paid to the Worshipful Master , for Bro . Terry was one to whom the province owed a great deal . He wished to apologise lor Bro . Knyvett ,

the Provincial Grand Treasurer , who would have been present had not a special call of bu-iness prevented . On behalf of the Provincial Grand Officers , he thanked them for the way the toast had been received , and for the welcome extended to them . They viewed with a great deal of pleasure the inauguration of a new lodge in Hertfordshire , which used to be called a little province , but which could not now be called that , and he was sure the lodge would prosper and be a credit to the Craft and the province in particular .

The PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTER then said he had to ask them to drink a toast which he would propose for the first time in that lodge , ancl he was sure they would receive it with all the warmth it deserved . He trusted the toast he was

about to propose would be proposed for a long time to come with even greater enthusiasm . The toast was " The Health of the Wo . rshipful Master , " the first W . M . of that lodge , and one of their oldest Masonic friends in the p . ovince , and in the Craft in general . It was not for him to anticipate what mig ht be said with reference to another toast—that of "The Masonic Institutions "—which rather handicapped him , for they all knew what Bro . James Terry did for the Charities . He

must not , however , touch upon that , as it would be dealt with later on , but he felt that if the Worshipful Master only displayed one half of the zeal , energy , and talent in governing and ruling the lodge that he had displayed tor many years past in the management of that important Charity with which he was identified , he thought there was a brilliant and glorious prosperity before the members of

that lodge . Fie asked the brethren on that the first occasion to welcome the Worshipful Master and g ive him such a reception as would encourage him in the management and welfare of the lodge , and by ensuring a successful career to it in the future , adding to that crown of Masonic g lory which already encircled his head .

Bro . J AMES TERRY , P . G . S . B ., W . M ., in responding , said the most difficult part of the discharge of his duties was then before him . He had to speak of himself , and that was a most difficult thing to do , because the Provincial Grand Master had been good enough—he would not say in the exuberance of his own verbosity—to draw largely upon his imagination in filling up many of the blanks of his Masonic career . This much he could promise them , as Worship ful Master of that lodge ,

that whatever his experience had been in the past he would endeavour to concentrate it , and make the lodge a bright success in the province . It was not the first time he had been the first Worshipful Master ; he thought that was the seventh time , and therefore he had had something to do in consolidating and bringing together men , totally unconnected , and joining them into one harmonious whole . In that lodge he apprehended no difficulty in doing that , for , speaking personally ,

he was the only outsider , al ! the rest being local men , and he therefore felt it a greater honour that they had gone to London to select a Worshipful Master , and to have selected himself , and not only that , but also to have obtained the permission of the Grand Master to be named after him . He was now in his 31 st year in Freemasonry , and but six months of that time had passed ere he was J . D . of his mother lodge . From that period he had continuously been in office in the Craft . He had held office in various lodges to have it culminated again as W . M . His had

not been an uneventful history in Freemasonry . He had had to deal with large bodies of men , and in the collection of large sums of money , and had always been received so kindly by brethren individually that his work had been a labour of love , and had been , in the words of the song they had just heard , his heart's delight . He lived in and for it , and tried to carry out those duties as a true Mason in every sense by greeting every man—whatever his position , providing he was good and honest—as if he was in the highest position in the land . In conducting tne lodge he would ask his officers to bear with him in his ruling . He would not endeavour

to go beyond the Book of Constitutions , but would endeavour so to conduct it as to be able to prove to them that in the future they might look upon the first year as one that would be a book of reference for them by which to go . He thanked the Provincial Grand Master , and remembered thc kindly words spoken in lodge by that distinguished brother , when he hoped that that lodge would prove as bright an ornament in the Craft as he was pleased to say he ( the W . M ) had become

among men . If he could onl y aspire to such a position , he should remember it as long as he lived , that in the attainment of such a proud position as the Worshipful Master of a lodge named after himself—a position which 30 years ago he could not have regarded as possible . When the matter was mentioned to him at the consecation of the Broxbourne Lodge , he asked them to speak to him again , and perhaps he would entertain the idea . He had done so , and by the

kindness of the Provincial Grand Master , and by the sanction of the Most Worshipful Grand Master , a lodge in England would be known for all time bearing the name of the humble individual then addressing them . He thanked them very much , and they mig ht believe he felt it strongly . He was rather a sensitive man upon many points , and he was upon that . He had endeavoured to be a good Mason and to do his duty , but it always seemed to him that whatever step he had taken had been over coloured by his Iriends . As long

as he remained their W . M . they might rely upon it that to the best of his ability the lodge should never go wrong and nothing should happen in it to cause the Provincial Grand Master to have any compunction in recommending it , or lor the Deputy Provincial Grand Master to say he had transgressed . He appreciated the compliment paid him to the fullest extent , and if there was one thing more than another which gratified him , it was that his son was present to witness it . He could only say that if it should be perpetuated by his name in other ways , the compliment paid him vvould more than realise his wildest dreams in Masonry .

Bros . Carter , C . E . Keyser , P . P . G . W ., and J . Stevens , P . M ., replied for "The Visitors "; and Bro . F . R . W . Hedges , Sec . R . M . I . G ., and John Mason , P . P . G . D . Middx ., responded for " The Masonic Institutions . " " The Officers" having been given , the Tyler ' s toast closed a very successful and thoroughly enjoyable evening .

Bros . Egbert Roberts , P . P . G . Org . Essex , assisted by Bros . Selwyn Davies and E . Davies , carried out the musical arrangements in the lodge and during the subsequent proceedings .

Provincial Grand Mark Lodge Of South Wales.

PROVINCIAL GRAND MARK LODGE OF SOUTH WALES .

The Provincial Grand Mark Lodge of South Wales was held at the Masonic Hall , Cardiff , on Wednesday , the 24 th ult ., under the banner of the Langley Mark Lodge . The Provincial Grand Master , Sir Pryse Pryse , Bart ., assisted by the Deputy Provincial Grand Master , the Rev . Jonathan Marsden , the officers of the Provincial Grand Mark Lodge , accompanied by the Provincial Grand Mark

Master ot Monmouth , Bro . Captain Samuel Homfray , and the Deputy Provincial Grand Master of Monmouth , Bro . Colonel Perkins , were received by the Worshi pful Master of the Langley Mark Lodge , Bro . John Sheridan , and his officers . Provincial . Grand Mark Lodge having been duly opened , and the business of the province transacted , the Provincial Grand Master invested his ofiicers for the ensuing year . The following brethren were appointed ¦