Consecration Of The Clissold Lodge, No. 2551.

Grand Secretary . He ( the W . M . ) was only alluding , a few months ago , to the fact that he saw the Grand Secretary perform his maiden consecration ceremony at the Rose Chapter , and he then said , and repeated it on the present occasion , how pleased the Craft were with Bro . Letchworth ' s appointment as Grand Secretary . He , therefore , fully endorsed the remarks of Bro . Richardson . 11 was a pleasure to make an opportunity of calling

at his office to be received and entertained so heartily . The Grand Secretary had at all times been one of their best friends , and he had been so to their lodge , and had consummated that friendship by consecrating the Clissold Lodge and installing its first Master . The way that ceremonial had been performed had shown him to be the right man in the right place . He ( the W . M . ) did not intend to make long speeches , but they would be

none the less hearty and sincere . He wished to say how delighted they would be to see the Grand Ofiicers present again , and thanked the Grand Secretary exceedingly for all he had ' done for the lodge , and for his splendid services in connection with the consecration . He asked the brethren to drink to the health and long life of the Grand Secretary , the Consecrating Officer . Bro . E . LETCHWORTH , G . Sec , said that as they had listened to him at

considerable length in tne Iodge , he should not presume to inflict anything in the nature of a speech on the present occasion , but he should indeed be ungrateful were he not to rise at once to acknowledge the more than kind terms in which the W . M . had been pleased to refer to the small services it had been his privilege to render that lodge . It had afforded him , and the brethren with whom he had been associated in the consecration , the greatest

possible pleasure to attend and assist in the ceremony . He knew he was expressing their feelings when he said he felt sure this lodge , started as it had been under such favourable auspices , had before it a great future , and would in years to come hold a position among lodges in the Metropolis of which it might justly be proud . He thanked the brethren from the bottom of his heart for the reception given the toast . It now became his peculiar

pleasure to ask them to join in drinking " The Health of their Worshipful Master , " whom he had had the great pleasure of installing into the chair . He might take this opportunity , as a Grand Officer , of tendering his hearty congratulations to their Worshipful Master on the high position he was destined to fill in Grand Lodge , and assure him , that whatever difference of opinion existed as to whether the office of Grand Treasurer was

the office for which he was best qualified , they recognised in him a genial and accomplished brother who had rendered great services in the past , and would render similar service in the future . He asked those present to join in drinking the health of the W . M ., and wish him a year of great prosperity and happiness . Bro . W . M . STILES , G . Treasurer elect , W . M ., in response , could only

say how much he appreciated the kind way in which his health had been proposed and received . It was at all times pleasant to hear one ' s self spoken of well , but when he heard such a high official in Freemasonry speak so highly of his small services , it gave him great pleasure indeed , and he thanked the Grand Secretary for having said so many kind things of him . He sincerely hoped he might , during his year of office in that lodge , show that he took some interest in it , and he would do his best to maintain and

uphold the dignity of the Clissold l , odge . They had been told by the Grand Chaplain to be careful whom they introduced , but the founders had made up their minds that if they were not going to be a large lodge , they intended being a select and influential lodge . He hoped they would not speak less well of him at the end of his year than at the present time , and he thanked them for the kind way in which they had received the genial remarks of the Grand Secretary .

Bro . Capt . T . C . WALLS , G . S B ., on behalf of "The Visitors , " said the consecration had been attended by various agreeable and opportune circumstances , one of the most important being the unique occurrence that the W . M . designate was the Grand Treasurer elect . He endorsed the remarks of the Grand Secretary , having known the W . M . long before he became a Mason , and having watched his career and assisted in his attaining his

present high position . Bro . W . A . SCURRAH , P . G . S . W ., said it had been to all the visitors a matter of satisfaction and rejoicing to assist in the consecration of this lodge . The Grand Secretary and other Grand Officers did their work in the most splendid manner . He should like to add to the remarks of the W . M . and say that the appointment of the present Grand Secretary had given the greatest satisfaction to every brother and lodge throughout London and the

country , and a more popular appointment was never made . The W . M . was getting rather an old man , and had shown himself for many years to be a thorough master of the ritual and of everything connected with Masonry . He had , moreover , shown his love for his poorer brethren , and was a worthy member of the Order . He congratulated Bro . Stiles upon being W . M . of that lodge , especially at the present time when in a few weeks he would be

invested as Grand Treasurer . Bro . J AMES STEPHENS , P . P . G . D . Bucks ., expressed his delight at being present , and at seeing for the first time on a printed programme the name of Bro . Stiles as Grand Treasurer elect . He should be failing in his duty if he did not express the acme of delight he felt at seeing him in that honourable

position . The W . M . had by his varied and indefatigable exertions in Freemasonry acquired the love and affection of the brethren . Bros . HAMER and BAKER also replied . " The Masonic Charities " was proposed by the W . M ., who will represent the lodge at the next Festival of the Boys' School , and responded to by Bro . MCLEOD , the Secretary of the Institution .

Other toasts were given before the proceedings terminated . Bro . Willie Wright is to be congratulated on the excellence of the musical arrangements in which he was assisted by the Schartau quartette .

The Death Of Bro. Thomas William Tew, J.P., Past Prov. Grand Master Of West Yorkshire.

THE DEATH OF BRO . THOMAS WILLIAM TEW , J . P ., PAST PROV . GRAND MASTER OF WEST YORKSHIRE .

With profound sorrow we announce to our readers that the death of Bro . Thomas William Tew , Past Prov . Grand Master of West Yorkshire , took place at his residence , the Grange , Carleton , near Pontefract , on Friday , the 29 th ult . Outside his own province , Bro . Tew has long been known and

honoured , whilst within it , it is no exaggeration to say that he was revered . The loss which the Craft sustains by his death is immeasurable , A just and upright man and a Mason , he was one of its brightest luminaries ; one who has ever striven , by precept and example , to carry out in his own life and

The Death Of Bro. Thomas William Tew, J.P., Past Prov. Grand Master Of West Yorkshire.

aims the principles which are inculcated in the teachings of our Order . To him it was given to see the ethical force and power for good which Freemasonry , properly worked and understood , possesses . Observing how admirably it was adapted to the requirements and needs of society , he was at all times one of its boldest and staunchest champions , and , by a course

of lectures and addresses to the vai ious lodges in his province , extending over a period of 20 years , he has endeavoured to raise the Craft to a higher level , and to educate the brethren up to a full realisation of their duties and responsibilities thereto . West Yorkshire , we are sure , will feel his loss acutely . By his genial manner , his stately courtesy , and more particularly his unbounded kindness of heart , he won the respect and affection of those

over whom it was once his pride and delight to rule . It will be remembered that Bro . Tew resigned his post as Provincial Grand Master of West Yorkshire at the beginning of the year 1893 . This he felt constrained to do in consequence of increasing ill-health . He had been ailing since 1890 , and his last public appearance as ruler of the Craft in West Yorkshire was at the annual meeting of Provincial Grand Lodge ,

at Huddersfield , on the 15 th of April , 1 S 91 . For two years from that time he struggled on manfully , battling against his infirmities , until , despairing of ultimate recovery , he resigned into the bands of the Grand Master the trust which hehad valued so highly and fulfilled so loyally . In a valedictory letter which he issued to the province , he tojk leave of his brethren in the following

words" From 1875 to 1885 , as many of you will doubtless remember , I acted as Deputy to our late lamented friend and gallant chief , Sir Henry Edwards , and from the latter date to the present time I have had the privilege of presiding over a province which has been distinguished by its charity , its loyalty , and its patriotism , and I look back upon the pist eight years as the happiest era in my Masonic life . "

After touching upon the various events which had occurred during that period , he continued" Without sacrificing one iota of its immortal principles ; in the strength of the grand and noble truths , which are its everlasting heritage ,

Freemasonry , deaf to the cries of party , regardless of sectarian differences , can pursue its beneficent work of elevating , purifying , restraining and enlightening humanity , and above all teaching that great doctrine of Christian Charity , which , in the crowd of conflicting interests , seems sometimes in danger of being thrust aside . "

Then after enjoining loyal submission to his successor , he concluded thus" It is not without emotion , brethren , that I resign the sceptre and terminate my connection with the chair of this province . The office is endeared to me by the pleasant memories of many happy hours . By its means I have contracted many agreeable friendships and formed numberless delightful

acquaintances ; and in passing on the gavel to my successor , I have the consolation of recollecting that , though I cease to fulfil the duties ot the position , I shall still have the happiness of living in your midst , and I shall ever esteem it a privilege to be of service to sou in advocating your interests , advancing your influence , and promoting in every possible way your lasting welfare and prosperity . "

Bro . Tew ' s Masonic career commenced in 1 S 56 . He was initiated in the Scarsdale Lodge , Chesterfield , in the neighbourhood of which place he was then residing . He for some time followed the profession of civil engineer , but removing to Pontefract in 1 S 60 , he entered the bank of Messrs . Leatham , Tew , and Company , in which in 1862 he became a partner . He there founded the St . Oswald Lodge , of which he was Worshipful Master

three times . He soon attained Provinc aI rank , and was appointed Deputy Prov . Grand Master by Sir Henry Edwards , in 1875 . On Sir Henry s resignation , Bro . Tew was selected by H . R . H . the Prince of Wales to rule over the Province of West Yorkshire , and to the discharge of the duties of that ofiice he devoted himself heart and soul . By visiting the lodges he became personally known to a large proportion of the brethren , and was , perhaps , the most popular Provincial Grand Master in England . Bro . Tew also

entered other Degrees , and after serving as Prov . Grand H ., under Comp . Bentley Shaw , and Comp . Sir Henry Edwards , he was appointed Grand Superintendent for West Yorkshire in 1885 , being installed into that office by Comp . Colonel Shadwell H . Clerke , the late Grand Secretary . In July , 1892 , Bro . Tew was made Very Eminent Prior of West Yorkshire . He joined the Knights of Malta , the Red Cross Knights of Babylon and the Rose Croix Degrees . He was also a Past Grand Deacon of England .

ln 1888 he founded the West Yorkshire Masonic Library and Museum which , through his liberality and fostering care , has become one of first importance , containing , as we believe , a most valuable collection of ancient MSS ., books , medals , and curios .

So impressed were the brethren of his province with the great work he had done in the cause ol Freemasonry , that in 1892 they subscribed the handsome sum of £ 1155 wherewith to purchase a perpetual presentation to the Masonic Benevolent Institution , to be called " The Thomas William Tew Presentation . "

Of all the three Masonic Charities Bro . Tew was a noble and generous supporter . He has filled the office of Steward 31 limes , was a Vice-President of the Boys , Vice-Patron of the Girls' School and a Patron of the Benevolent Institution . ln all he has subscribed over £ c \ oo to these Charities , and the province by his death loses no less than 349 votes . This , we are assured , though in itself most exceptional and liberal , does

not represent a tithe of his benevolence . As hi * biographer very aptly says : " Pontefract owes much to Thomas William Tew , and to do the town justice it readily acknowledges the obligation . Whatever movement has taken place with a view to its moral , social , or material well-being , with that movement has his name been associated . Possessed of means , he has

generously distributed those means , and in addition to hij public benefactions ( and their name is legion ) he has given large sums for charitable purposes , and relieved many a poor and distressed family in the true sp irit of alms-giving , in secret . There are hundreds who have cause to bless the name of Thomas William Tew for

" His little nameless , unremembered acts , Of kindness and of love , " which , as Wordsworth declares , form " That best portion of a good man's life . " For the last two years Bro . Tew has been a confirmed invalid . The complaint from which he has suffered has caused him the greatest inconvenience , and though he has Irom time to time , when his disorder was less acute , got out , or even left his home for a few weeks' change , yet the recurrence has