Consecration Of The Thomas Ralling Lodge.

Grand Lodge . He was sure that if the work of the lodge was carried out with anything of the assiduity , thc courtesy , and the Masonic feeling with which ihe duties of thc Prov . Grand Secretary had been discharged by the new Worshipful Master , he was sure the lodge had a career of success be fore it .

Bio . Rev . THOMAS VVKNKY delivered the oration , after which the lodge was formally consecrated . The musical portions of the ceremony were performc 1 by Bros . J . A . Brown , Edward Dal / all , P . M ., F ' rederick Bevan , and Robert Hilton , under the direction of Bro . Frederick Bevan . At the termination of the consecration ceremony Bro . Albert Lucking look the W . M . ' s chair and installed Bro . Thomas lohn Railing as first

. Master of the lodge . Bro . F ' red . Bevan , 1706 , was appointed to act as I . P . M ., and presented with a founder ' s jewel . Bro . Richard Clowes was elected as Treasurer , and the officers wcre then invested with their collars of ollice as follows , each having a founder ' s jewel : Bros . (' . Lewis , 1706 , S . W . ; R . | . Henni-gs , 170 ( 1 , J . W . ; Richard Clowes , P . M . 170 C , etc ., P . G .

Std . Br . England , P . P . S . G . W . Essex , Treas . ; W . Chiiord , P . M . 170 C , N . -C , P . P . G ) Supt . of Wks . Surrey , Sec ; Walter J . Tull , 170 ( 1 , S . D . ; ( has . H . Kcmpling , 170 ( 1 , J . D . ; Frank Griffith , 1853 , I . G . ; Isaac C Griffith , 170 ( 1 , Org . ; George Vatie , J . . 03 , and Edward P . Salvage , 1706 , Stwds . ; and Free-man , P . M ., Tyler .

Bro . Clowes was elected Charity Representative of thc lodge ; the founders were electcel a Committee to frame the by-laws ; the Consecrating Officers received a vote of thanks and the honorary membership of the lodge , Bro . Philbrick being presented with a founder ' s jewel ; and several intended initiates were proposed .

After some other business the lodge was closed , and the brethren adjourned l ) an excellent banquet provided by Mr . Polti , thc proprietor of the hotel , in excellent taste . The wines , which were of the best quality , were provided out of the lodge ' s own cellar . The usual toasts were afterwards proposed and honoured . Bro . M \ r rin . w Ci . utKi' ., Past Dep . Prov . G . Master ior F . ssex , responded lo the toast which included " The Grand Ollicers , " and asked the lodge to

accept those brethren ' s thanks for the cordial , courteous , and enthusiastic reception wlr ' ch in his experience he had always had in the Essex lodges . Thc Grand Officers always did their best for F ' rcemasonry , and whatever mistakes Grand Lodge might make were errors of judgment and not o ( intention . They did the best lor Masonry according to their lights . Bro . LENNOX BROWNE also acknowledged the toast . Flis appointment . as a Grand Officer in 1 nited Grand Lodge was in some sense a compliment 10 Essex , for until he came into Essex and was made a Grand Warden

there , he was not known in Masonry . That acquaintance with the province . stimulated him lo join boards and to work m Charity . The province was ruled by the law of love , and he was very pleased to see Bro . Railing , who had done so much for thc Province of Essex , as the first Master of that ln . lge . With such a brother in the lodge it would always be conducted with I 1 . 11 monv .

Bro . l < Mil xt : next proposed " the Provincial Grand Master , thc Earl of Warwick ; the Deputy Provincial Grand Master , Bro . Philbrick ; and the list nf the Provincial Grand Officers , Present and Past , " and regretted the absence of the Earl of Warwick . It was a most important thing for a lodge lo have a good start , and no one could deny that the Thomas Ralling Lodge li . id had a splendid start . He was very much obliged to Bro . Lennox Browne for his leleience to the work of Essex . The work of Esses was a work ol

love . There was a certain amount of coercion , but the pressure was so light that the brethren hardly felt it . Rule , however , had lo be carried out , and every officer in Essex was anxious to do his duty and to make everything work smoothly . Bro . F . A . Pnii . iiUHK , Q . C , Grand Registrar , D . P . G . M ., in reply , said they all deeply regretted the absence of the Earl of Warwick . He knew

from correspondence he had had with the Provincial Grand Master the interest his lordship had taken in the formation of that lodge . His lordship recommended the petition to the Grand Master with the greatest pleasure , and he looked—nol in vain—to that lodge to carry out that which its founders meant , and which its name really imported , lo become a shining light in Masonry , and an exainnle lo the lotjges of the

province . As his lordship ' s Deputy , it had been his duty to take part in the ceremony of the da ) - —a ceremony to which he was not a stranger in the province . It was something like 15 years that he had bad the honour of being connected with the province . When Bro . Bagshawe was Provincial Grand Master they laid Masonry in the province on deep foundations , lo which its present prosperity was due . At that time , with the Blackwater

Lodge , there were i <) lodges in the province ; there were now 37 . They did not quite gauge success by numbers ; they looked to the way the lodges were worked , and to the great loyally which was shown on all occasions to all that was ri g ht in F ' rcemasonry . l ' he W . M . was well acquainted with thc ruling and tr . iveining of the province , with the kindness , the generosity , and the true Masonic spirit which prevailed in it . These rendered it an

easy task to those who had to preside . They owed the success of the province , or most of it , to the united feeling of the brethren . It must be a pride to the I ' arl of Warwick as it was to himself to be called upon to preside over such a province , and he trusted that this latest addition to thc number of its lodges , which presented in itself such guarantees of success in the future , would amply vindicate its right to be called by a name which was

so honoured in the province . It contained within itself not merel y many good Masons , but it had the elements which would perpetuate the lodge as a standard of Masonry in the future . It was often an anxious thing when they knew that the brethren who were proposing to undertake the venture of a new lodge to see whether the root which was spreading was likely tn extend deeply , and after the first enthusiasm had

passed , whether it would strike and flourish in the ground . He thought they need have no fears on thai score on the present occasion . A weak recruit brought no credit ; a weak lodge was not desirable , especiall y in such a province as lissex . Those who started a new lodge undertook a great responsibility ; but those who founded that lodge were ; i guarantee of its sn . cess . There was nothing in the wcr ! d , ay , nothing Masonic , which

was capable of being attained , if worthy of attainment , which was not to b- " attained b y su-tained and continued effort . Devotion to the cause ., niid singlc-mindediiess of effort were sure to achieve success . As long as'that lasted , the lodges would be a credit , and there were in that lodge elements which would ensure a permanent success . He , as well as all the visitors to ( he lodge , gave their best wishes for it . Bro . Rj . vo . v also replied .

Bro . Pm 1 . HR irK proposed " The W . M . of the Newly-Consecrated Lodge , " a toast to which every heart was responsive . The lodge was highly favoured in having Bro . Railing as Master . They lelt that an honour had bem done to the lodge , and . 111 honour had been done to Bro . Palling

Consecration Of The Thomas Ralling Lodge.

in his name being selected as the name of the lodge . To a certain extent , Bro . Railing had trusted his reputation in the hands of th » lodge . The brethren of the lodge would be jealous of that reputation . Of him he would only say that his past career was a guerdon of his future success , and that they all felt proud to see him in the position of W . M ., and prou j that he reflected upon thc lodge the credit and lustre which during so many

years he had so well gained by his unfailing urbanit }' , 03 ' his great knowledge of Masonry , and , above all , by his kindness of heart towards the brethren of the province . Brought to bear upon the small area of the lod ge those qualities would thoroughly conduce to its success , and he had the greatest pleasure , therefore , in proposing Bro . Railing ' s health as W . M . of the lodge .

Bro . RULING , W . M ., in acknowledg ing thc toast , which was most enthusiasticall y drunk , said he felt quite overwhelmed by the kind remarks his chief had used and by the more than hearty way in which the brethren received them . He felt that , as Bro . Philbrick had said , the great respansibility cast upon him as the first Master of this new lodge . When the warrant was read in the lodge the brethren would remember it said , " from

the great trust and confidence we repose in our worthy brethren the founders of the lodge . " Well , as W . M . of that lodge , he might say the wish of the founders was that that confidence might not be misplaced . They were most anxious that that lodge should be a ^ working lodge in the province . They did not aim at being a large lodge ; they would aim at being a working lodge , and they would try their very best to do something to forward

I ' . KO . THOMAS JOHN KALUNC , WOUSHtl'l'UL MASTER . Masonry in the province . For a long number of years he had been before the Province of Essex , and his sole desire would be to do what good he could—he would not say to leave the world better than he found it—but at all events to improve Masonry . His Masonic career began when he was rather young . He was initiated in 186 9 , and he had an excellent mother .

His family had been Masons many years . His mother was one of the best Masons that a woman could be , and it was , he believed , the proudest night of her life when he became a Mason . They were a bi g band of brothers ; he and his connections were all Masons now . He might say , as Lord Lathom said last week , upon his honour he never had persuaded his brothers to join the Craft . He had done the best he could by this example to show

he believed in Masonry , and he was glad he , as Master of his lodge 17 years ago , initiated two of his brothers . Since then he had initiated one or two others . He was pleased two years ago to go to Devonshire and instal one of his brothers as Master of his lodge , and he was pleased to see hii " now present . He was thankful to the brethren for their kind reception , and to those who came to support him on this interesting occasion . As he had

said just now , the lodge ' s aim would be to do what it could to promote Freemasonry in lissex , and he was sure all thc brethren there that night would give their assistance , Bro . F . BEVAN replied to the toast of " The Acting I . P . M . " Bros . EGERTON GREEN , J AMES R XLI . ING , and PERCV CLOWES responded for " The Visitors . "

Bro . RALLING , in giving the loast of " Th 1 Officers of the Lodge , " paid a high compliment to Bro . Clifford , the Secretary , to whom , he said , tl > success of the meeting was due , for he had devoted the last three weeks to making preparations lor it . In this work he had been ably assisted by a son and a daughter . I ! c felt personally indebted to the young lady , and he felt sorry he had not been introduced lo her .

Bro . RICHARD CLOWES , Treas ., and Bro . CI . HI ' ORD , Sec , respond ' tnd ihe Tyler ' s toast closed the proceedings . The lodge was furnished by liro . George Kenning .

Bro . T . J . Railing , whose portrait we have much pleasure in presentn'fc lo our readers this week is , and has been for many years , one of the leading spirits of Freemasonry in Essex , and to his successful services to the Cral the great progress of thc province in late years is a striking proof . H'gj ' ) p ipular among his brethren , accessible and courteous toa degree , our brot »

presents a model type of a Provincial Grand Secretary . His Masonic c ^ ree is a Ion 1 and honourable one , from his initiation in i 8 ( . ») to the day when lodge bearing his name was duly constituted under the circumstances described in our report . It is worth noting that Bro ' . ' Ralling has ^ eve brothers all Masons , six of whom he himself inil ' nled into thc mysteries the Craft .