Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Anniversary Festival Of The Royal Masonic Institution Fob Girls.
ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOB GIRLS .
The 107 th Anniversary Festival of this Institution was held on Wednesday evening , at Freemasons' Tavern , under the presidency of Bro . the Earl of Mo-. mt Edgcumbe , Deputy Grand Master , Prov . Grand Master of Cornwall . His lordship was supported by a very large company , which included Bros , the Rev . Sir William Vincent , P . G . C . ; Sir J . B . Monckton , P ' . G . VV . ; Peter de L . Long , P . G . D . ; Horace Brooks Marshall , P . G . T . ;
George Everett , P . G . T . ; C . E . Keyser , P . G . D . ; Robert Grey , P . G . D ., President Board of General Purposes ; Dr . James Balfour Cockburn , Prov . G . M . Guernsey and Alderney ; Richard Henry Holmes . D . P . G . M . Northumberland ; Henry Smith , D . P . G . M . West Yorkshire , Treasurer of the Institution ; Col . James Peters , P . G . S . B . ; Frank Richardson , P . G . D . ; P . Colville Smith , Prov . S . G . W . Cornwall ; E . D . Anderton , Prov . G . Sec . Cornwall ; and Charles Be / ton , P . G . D .
After the dinner , which was an excellent one , had been partaken of , the usual toasts were proposed and honoured . The Earl of MOUNT EDGCTMBK , in proposing the toast of " The Queen , " said : Many of you may remember the Centenary Festival of this Institution in the Albert Hall . Very few who were present on that occasion will be likely to forget that remarkable scene . You will perhaps remember ,
therefore , that it was under the presidency of the Most Worshipful Grand Master , and that he then gave the first toast of the evening with due Masonic honours , although there were a large number of visitors present . But I believe that his Royal Highness on consideration would not think that was a precedent to be followed always ; and , therefore , on this occasion , I
shall follow the toast list with the loyalcy and warmth you drink it , and with which every member of the Craft ever drinks it , whether in t .-. e boundaries of the United Kingdom , or throughout the vast dominions of this Empire . I give you the Health of her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen , the Chief Patroness of this Institution . '"
The Earl of MOUNT . liDGCimiiE next said : The history of the development of the Institution which we have met here to support to-night is a small reflection of the history of Masonry in this country ; of the development of Masonry during the last half century , and especially during the last 20 years of that half century ; and I would ask you whether one of the great causes of that development has not been that his Royal Highness
the Prince of Wales , the heir to the Throne of this country , and the other members of the Royal Family have not supported us most loyally and heartily ; Decause it is our pride to have his Royal Highness the Princa of Wales as our Grand Master , and because we acknowledge the benefits he has conferred upon Masonry in this country , and also because of our loyalty to the oftix which he holds as Grand Master that we always welcome his name with the greatest enthusiasm at our meeting' :, and with not the less
enthusiasm when it is coupled with the gracious Princess who , while he is Grand Patron and President of this Institution , also graces this Institution with her patronage as Grand Patroness . I shall , therefore , give you without any further words , because they are absolutely unnecessary , the toast of "His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales , Most Worshipful Grand Master , Grand Patron and President of this Institution , the Princess of Wales , Grand Patroness of this Institution , and the other members of the Royal Family . "
Bro . BAI . VOI'R COCKIIURN , Prov . G . M . Guernsey and Alderney , proposed the next toast . He said : A most important toast has been entrusted to me , being no less than that ot the " Pro Grand Master , the Earl of Lathom , and the Grand Officers , Present and Past . " It would almost be unbecoming on my part to enter into any eulogium as regards the Pro Grand Master , his services to Masonry have been so devoted and so long , that I might
almost say that the history of the Grand Lodge and the history of your Pro Grand Master have been intertwined for many years past . With regard to the Grand Officers , Present and Past , you all know that they must have been true and trusty men before they received the approving mark of the Grand Master and got the purple ; and it is not likely that brethren who have served the Craft so long and so worthily would be found
wanting when they have reached a hi gher and more exalted position . ( Hear , hear . ) I would wish on this special occasion to have made some remarks with regard to the noble Institution whose Festival we are celebrating to-night , but you will hear more of that from our noble Chairman , and you will have more interesting details from him than I could give you ; but I cannot refrain from expressing what I saw and what
occurred on Monday last . Those ladies , arid brethren , and gentlemen who were privileged to visit the Girls' Institution on that occasion , must have felt that the Grand Officers and the brethren to whom was entrusted the management of that glorious establishment had rendered an account of their stewardship which might well be received and approved of by the most captious and the most fastidious critic . ( Hear , hear , and cheers . ) If the Grand Officers who are engaged in the goverment of the Institution cin do
so well , I am quite sure there are many others who could supply their places and would willingly do so . I , therefore , have no heslation in asking you to drink most cordially and most warmly " The Health of the Right Hon . the Earl of Lathom , G . C . B ., Most Worshipful Pro Grand Master , and the rest of the Grand Officers , Present and Past , " and I couple with that toast the name of Bro . the Rev . Sir William Vincent , Past Grand Chaplain of the Order .
Anniversary Festival Of The Royal Masonic Institution Fob Girls.
Bro . the Rev . Sir WILLIAM VINCENT , Bart ., P . G . C , replying , said : regret that the Pro Grand A faster is not present upon this occasion ( o return thanks for this toast , which has been so eloquently proposed by' Bro . Dr . Cockburn , and so cordially received by you . But everybody knows that on every occasion when Grand Lodge meets there is the heart of the Pro Grand Master , the Earl of Lathom . ( Hear , hear ) . In his absence , though very
unworthily , I return thanks in his name ; yet f do it with peculiar satisfaction , because I had the privilege and honour of being a Mason before him , and of having been associated with the ceremony of his initiation in the Apollo Lodge at Oxford . Ever since that occasion he has devoted himself most warmly and enthusiastically to the interests of Masonry , as almost every brother in this room can most amply testify ; and f would that every member of Grand Lodge should be equally energetic and enthusiastic as he is .
It is not , of course , however , to be expected that every one should show the same facility , or have the same opportunity , though we may all in our smaller measure have the welfare of the Craft and of these Masonic Institutions at heart equally with him . I trust that as the tradition of the past has been kept up to a large extent in the officers who have been appointed in Grand Lodge , so that that tradition may be carried forward for years untold to the benefit of Freemasonry and of those noble Charitable Institutions . ( Applause ) .
Bro . Sir J B . MONCKTON , P . G . W ., proposed the next toast , " The Right Hon . the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe , Deputy Grand Master , Prov . Grand Master for Cornwall , Chairman of the Day . " He said : I avoid addressing , at this moment , his lordship , because he is the honoured subject , honoured by us ; I mean , we are honoured by proposing the honoured subject of this toast . Fortunately , perhaps , for you—unfortunately
for me , for I am brimming over with eloquence on the subjectthis is in one sense the toast of the evening ; by which I mean I am not entitled to detain you at undue length in proposing it . Happily , however , eloquence is not wanted . Most of 3 'ou , probably all of you , know the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe , Masonically if not personally . As for me , I have the privilege of knowing his lordship in both capacities .
I sat by him when he presided over Bro . Terry ' s wonderful Jubilee meeting a few years ago in Covent Garden Theatre when he was the proud Chairman—I am sure he was the proud Chairman—of a meeting that brought together a record sum in the annals even of English Charity . ( Hear , hear , and cheers . ) I stood by his lordship on the stormy billows of the Adriatic . ( Laughter . ) There was not much danger , brethren ;
there was a good deal of consumption of tobacco , and long pipes . I am not sure I did not prefer the atmosphere of the Adriatic to that of Covent Garden Theatre . To his lordship we look forward , as we have on many occasions , Masonic and otherwise , and we have found him to be always the same—semper idem—always the samealways master of what he has to do , always most punctilious and most
careful , and most thorough in doing it . I cannot better sum his lordship up than by using words expressed to me just now by our Bro . Anderton , the Provincial Grand Secretary of Cornwall , a Past Senior Grand Warden of Cornwall , who is here to do honour to this meeting , who , in speaking of his lordship , said to me— "he is thorovighly beloved throughout the Duchy . " ( Hear , hear . ) It would be presumptuous in me to attempt to add to that ,
and I ask you to rise and drink as one man " Long-continued hearty good health to the Right Hon . the Karl of Mount Edgcumbe , Deputy Grand Master , Provincial Grand Master of Cornwall , Chairman of the Day . " The Earl of MOUNT EnuruMnr ., in acknowledging the toast , said : Brethren , —I thank you personally for the very kind and cordial reception that you have given to this toast , and I thank Bro . Sir John Monckton for
the too flattering words which he has made use of in proposing that toast . I can say that it is a great pleasure—that it is a great honour to be associated as Chairman with the annual Festival of this most important Institution , and I am very glad to see this Festival so well supported by you , brethren . ( Applause . ) I have no doubt many of you have done all you could to make it a success in a pecuniary sense for the Institution in which
you are so well interested , and among them I find my own brethren of the distant , of the small and distant , but at the same time loyal , Province of Cornwall . ( Applause . ) I thank you sincerely for your support and for your energies , and I trust that the result may be a material addition to the funds of this Institution . ( Cheers . ) I now desire that you will allow me to go on without first sitting down and
propose " Success , Long-continued and ever-increasing prosperity and usefulness to this Royal Masonic Institution for Girls . " ( Cheers . ) I think it must be satisfactory to the ladies who take an interest in our proceedings , and to whom I think my apologies are due for having given permission to smoke which I did just now without askingtheir sanction—I think it must be a matter of satisfaction to them that this is the oldest , the earliest
of the Masonic Institutions of this country—that the first thought of a society exclusively of men should have been the care and education of their daughters . ( Hear , hear . ) As you all know , it dates back so far as 17 SS , that the Chevalier Ruspini , whose portrait hangs upon the walls of our School , and whose memory will always beassociated with the Institution as lon <> - as it lasts ,
originated that scheme , and under the auspices of the Duke of Cumberland , who was then our Grand Master , and the Duchess of Cumberland , he first established this Institution which was then called " The Royal Cumberland Freemasons' School , " in a small building at the back of the Duke of P , edford's house in the New Road , somewhere , I believe , between Tottenham Court-road and Islington , at the rent of £ 35 a year , to accommodate
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Anniversary Festival Of The Royal Masonic Institution Fob Girls.
ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOB GIRLS .
The 107 th Anniversary Festival of this Institution was held on Wednesday evening , at Freemasons' Tavern , under the presidency of Bro . the Earl of Mo-. mt Edgcumbe , Deputy Grand Master , Prov . Grand Master of Cornwall . His lordship was supported by a very large company , which included Bros , the Rev . Sir William Vincent , P . G . C . ; Sir J . B . Monckton , P ' . G . VV . ; Peter de L . Long , P . G . D . ; Horace Brooks Marshall , P . G . T . ;
George Everett , P . G . T . ; C . E . Keyser , P . G . D . ; Robert Grey , P . G . D ., President Board of General Purposes ; Dr . James Balfour Cockburn , Prov . G . M . Guernsey and Alderney ; Richard Henry Holmes . D . P . G . M . Northumberland ; Henry Smith , D . P . G . M . West Yorkshire , Treasurer of the Institution ; Col . James Peters , P . G . S . B . ; Frank Richardson , P . G . D . ; P . Colville Smith , Prov . S . G . W . Cornwall ; E . D . Anderton , Prov . G . Sec . Cornwall ; and Charles Be / ton , P . G . D .
After the dinner , which was an excellent one , had been partaken of , the usual toasts were proposed and honoured . The Earl of MOUNT EDGCTMBK , in proposing the toast of " The Queen , " said : Many of you may remember the Centenary Festival of this Institution in the Albert Hall . Very few who were present on that occasion will be likely to forget that remarkable scene . You will perhaps remember ,
therefore , that it was under the presidency of the Most Worshipful Grand Master , and that he then gave the first toast of the evening with due Masonic honours , although there were a large number of visitors present . But I believe that his Royal Highness on consideration would not think that was a precedent to be followed always ; and , therefore , on this occasion , I
shall follow the toast list with the loyalcy and warmth you drink it , and with which every member of the Craft ever drinks it , whether in t .-. e boundaries of the United Kingdom , or throughout the vast dominions of this Empire . I give you the Health of her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen , the Chief Patroness of this Institution . '"
The Earl of MOUNT . liDGCimiiE next said : The history of the development of the Institution which we have met here to support to-night is a small reflection of the history of Masonry in this country ; of the development of Masonry during the last half century , and especially during the last 20 years of that half century ; and I would ask you whether one of the great causes of that development has not been that his Royal Highness
the Prince of Wales , the heir to the Throne of this country , and the other members of the Royal Family have not supported us most loyally and heartily ; Decause it is our pride to have his Royal Highness the Princa of Wales as our Grand Master , and because we acknowledge the benefits he has conferred upon Masonry in this country , and also because of our loyalty to the oftix which he holds as Grand Master that we always welcome his name with the greatest enthusiasm at our meeting' :, and with not the less
enthusiasm when it is coupled with the gracious Princess who , while he is Grand Patron and President of this Institution , also graces this Institution with her patronage as Grand Patroness . I shall , therefore , give you without any further words , because they are absolutely unnecessary , the toast of "His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales , Most Worshipful Grand Master , Grand Patron and President of this Institution , the Princess of Wales , Grand Patroness of this Institution , and the other members of the Royal Family . "
Bro . BAI . VOI'R COCKIIURN , Prov . G . M . Guernsey and Alderney , proposed the next toast . He said : A most important toast has been entrusted to me , being no less than that ot the " Pro Grand Master , the Earl of Lathom , and the Grand Officers , Present and Past . " It would almost be unbecoming on my part to enter into any eulogium as regards the Pro Grand Master , his services to Masonry have been so devoted and so long , that I might
almost say that the history of the Grand Lodge and the history of your Pro Grand Master have been intertwined for many years past . With regard to the Grand Officers , Present and Past , you all know that they must have been true and trusty men before they received the approving mark of the Grand Master and got the purple ; and it is not likely that brethren who have served the Craft so long and so worthily would be found
wanting when they have reached a hi gher and more exalted position . ( Hear , hear . ) I would wish on this special occasion to have made some remarks with regard to the noble Institution whose Festival we are celebrating to-night , but you will hear more of that from our noble Chairman , and you will have more interesting details from him than I could give you ; but I cannot refrain from expressing what I saw and what
occurred on Monday last . Those ladies , arid brethren , and gentlemen who were privileged to visit the Girls' Institution on that occasion , must have felt that the Grand Officers and the brethren to whom was entrusted the management of that glorious establishment had rendered an account of their stewardship which might well be received and approved of by the most captious and the most fastidious critic . ( Hear , hear , and cheers . ) If the Grand Officers who are engaged in the goverment of the Institution cin do
so well , I am quite sure there are many others who could supply their places and would willingly do so . I , therefore , have no heslation in asking you to drink most cordially and most warmly " The Health of the Right Hon . the Earl of Lathom , G . C . B ., Most Worshipful Pro Grand Master , and the rest of the Grand Officers , Present and Past , " and I couple with that toast the name of Bro . the Rev . Sir William Vincent , Past Grand Chaplain of the Order .
Anniversary Festival Of The Royal Masonic Institution Fob Girls.
Bro . the Rev . Sir WILLIAM VINCENT , Bart ., P . G . C , replying , said : regret that the Pro Grand A faster is not present upon this occasion ( o return thanks for this toast , which has been so eloquently proposed by' Bro . Dr . Cockburn , and so cordially received by you . But everybody knows that on every occasion when Grand Lodge meets there is the heart of the Pro Grand Master , the Earl of Lathom . ( Hear , hear ) . In his absence , though very
unworthily , I return thanks in his name ; yet f do it with peculiar satisfaction , because I had the privilege and honour of being a Mason before him , and of having been associated with the ceremony of his initiation in the Apollo Lodge at Oxford . Ever since that occasion he has devoted himself most warmly and enthusiastically to the interests of Masonry , as almost every brother in this room can most amply testify ; and f would that every member of Grand Lodge should be equally energetic and enthusiastic as he is .
It is not , of course , however , to be expected that every one should show the same facility , or have the same opportunity , though we may all in our smaller measure have the welfare of the Craft and of these Masonic Institutions at heart equally with him . I trust that as the tradition of the past has been kept up to a large extent in the officers who have been appointed in Grand Lodge , so that that tradition may be carried forward for years untold to the benefit of Freemasonry and of those noble Charitable Institutions . ( Applause ) .
Bro . Sir J B . MONCKTON , P . G . W ., proposed the next toast , " The Right Hon . the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe , Deputy Grand Master , Prov . Grand Master for Cornwall , Chairman of the Day . " He said : I avoid addressing , at this moment , his lordship , because he is the honoured subject , honoured by us ; I mean , we are honoured by proposing the honoured subject of this toast . Fortunately , perhaps , for you—unfortunately
for me , for I am brimming over with eloquence on the subjectthis is in one sense the toast of the evening ; by which I mean I am not entitled to detain you at undue length in proposing it . Happily , however , eloquence is not wanted . Most of 3 'ou , probably all of you , know the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe , Masonically if not personally . As for me , I have the privilege of knowing his lordship in both capacities .
I sat by him when he presided over Bro . Terry ' s wonderful Jubilee meeting a few years ago in Covent Garden Theatre when he was the proud Chairman—I am sure he was the proud Chairman—of a meeting that brought together a record sum in the annals even of English Charity . ( Hear , hear , and cheers . ) I stood by his lordship on the stormy billows of the Adriatic . ( Laughter . ) There was not much danger , brethren ;
there was a good deal of consumption of tobacco , and long pipes . I am not sure I did not prefer the atmosphere of the Adriatic to that of Covent Garden Theatre . To his lordship we look forward , as we have on many occasions , Masonic and otherwise , and we have found him to be always the same—semper idem—always the samealways master of what he has to do , always most punctilious and most
careful , and most thorough in doing it . I cannot better sum his lordship up than by using words expressed to me just now by our Bro . Anderton , the Provincial Grand Secretary of Cornwall , a Past Senior Grand Warden of Cornwall , who is here to do honour to this meeting , who , in speaking of his lordship , said to me— "he is thorovighly beloved throughout the Duchy . " ( Hear , hear . ) It would be presumptuous in me to attempt to add to that ,
and I ask you to rise and drink as one man " Long-continued hearty good health to the Right Hon . the Karl of Mount Edgcumbe , Deputy Grand Master , Provincial Grand Master of Cornwall , Chairman of the Day . " The Earl of MOUNT EnuruMnr ., in acknowledging the toast , said : Brethren , —I thank you personally for the very kind and cordial reception that you have given to this toast , and I thank Bro . Sir John Monckton for
the too flattering words which he has made use of in proposing that toast . I can say that it is a great pleasure—that it is a great honour to be associated as Chairman with the annual Festival of this most important Institution , and I am very glad to see this Festival so well supported by you , brethren . ( Applause . ) I have no doubt many of you have done all you could to make it a success in a pecuniary sense for the Institution in which
you are so well interested , and among them I find my own brethren of the distant , of the small and distant , but at the same time loyal , Province of Cornwall . ( Applause . ) I thank you sincerely for your support and for your energies , and I trust that the result may be a material addition to the funds of this Institution . ( Cheers . ) I now desire that you will allow me to go on without first sitting down and
propose " Success , Long-continued and ever-increasing prosperity and usefulness to this Royal Masonic Institution for Girls . " ( Cheers . ) I think it must be satisfactory to the ladies who take an interest in our proceedings , and to whom I think my apologies are due for having given permission to smoke which I did just now without askingtheir sanction—I think it must be a matter of satisfaction to them that this is the oldest , the earliest
of the Masonic Institutions of this country—that the first thought of a society exclusively of men should have been the care and education of their daughters . ( Hear , hear . ) As you all know , it dates back so far as 17 SS , that the Chevalier Ruspini , whose portrait hangs upon the walls of our School , and whose memory will always beassociated with the Institution as lon <> - as it lasts ,
originated that scheme , and under the auspices of the Duke of Cumberland , who was then our Grand Master , and the Duchess of Cumberland , he first established this Institution which was then called " The Royal Cumberland Freemasons' School , " in a small building at the back of the Duke of P , edford's house in the New Road , somewhere , I believe , between Tottenham Court-road and Islington , at the rent of £ 35 a year , to accommodate