History Of The Emulation Lodge Of Improvement, No. 256.——(Continued).

History of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement , No . 256 . ——( Continued ) .

( By Bro . HENRY S ADLER , Sub-Librarian to the Grand Lodge of England ) .

BRO . R . Clay Sudlow , acknowledging the toast , said : Right Worshipful Chairman and brethren , I need hardly say how very highly I appreciate the honour again conferred upon me of responding to the toast of "The Emulation Lodge of Improvement , " and , in doing so , I would like , first of allto thank Lord Barnard for the extremely kind way in

, which he has commended this toast to your approval . I would also like to thank the Grand Officers and the brethren assembled here in such goodly numbers for coming to celebrate with the Committee the virtual completion of eighty years of active work ; work , I venture to say , fraught

with the greatest possible benefit throughout the whole of that period to the Craft . To whom , brethren , on an occasion such as this , do our thoughts naturally turn ? To whom is the Craft really indebted for the teaching of this Lodge ? Surely , brethren , to those who , at the invitation of the Grand Lodge in 1813 , gathered together the various and varying systems

CHARLES W . C . HUTTON , P . G . D ., EX-SHERIFF OF LONDON AND MIDDLESEX , Joined lite Emulation Loih / e of Improvement in 184 G . of ritual , digested , arranged , and brought them into a regular system—a system practised , I am glad to say , by most Lodges in the present day ; a system that , I submit , cannot be

bettered by any improvements . It will not be out of place , then , brethren , to-night , to pay a tribute of respect and admiration to that Grand Lodge for its Wisdom in deciding to institute a standard of ritual , and to those brethren of the Lodge of Reconciliation for the Strength and the Beauty

of the fabric they then raised from probably very crude materials . It is curious , brethren , and interesting to notice how the truth of the adage , that history repeats itself , has been exemplified in the annals of this Lodge . I will give you two instances only , but those of you who are reading the

very ably written series of articles on the History of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement , by Bro . Sadler , appearing now in THE MASONIC ILLUSTRATED , will easily be able to find others . It appears that in 18 4 8 the Masons of Birmingham approached this Lodge with a request that an expert might

be deputed to visit them and bring their working into harmony with the Emulation Lodge system . The request was granted , and Bro . Honey , a pupil of Bro . Peter Gilkes , was commissioned to carry out the work . In the course of years , differences in the working began to creep in , and as these differences grew and multiplied , the Masons of

Birmingham in 1891 again approached the Emulation Lod ge of Improvement and invited an expert from that Lodge to again put them right . The expert on this second occasion was Bro . Sudlow , a pupil of Bro . Thomas Fenn . The next instance , brethren , is no less singular . In 18 40 , Bro . Richard

Daly was elected Secretary of this Lodge . He was a member of the British Lodge , No . 8 . To-day , in our Bro . Russell , we have not only one of the most genial , but one of the most devoted Secretaries this Lodge ever possessed .

Moreover , he is a Past Master of the British Lodge , No . 8 . This is an age of record making and record breaking , and I confess that I have a very great ambition to make a record in some way in connection with this Lodge ; but it is by no means easy . My twenty years' service as senior Past Master fades almost into insignificance in comparison with

the achievements of more than one of my predecessors . Still , I do not propose to give up entirely all hope . Granted a continuance of health and of memory , I may yet see the fulfilment of my desire ; but even , brethren , if that may not be , the future of this Lodge is absolutely safe in the hands

of my colleagues , Bro . Lewis and Bro . Lander ; they are masters of the ritual , and they are profoundly impressed with the importance and with the sacredness of the trust reposed in them as members of the Committee . Moreover , should vacancies occur in the course of time in the

Committee , I am glad to say that at present there are not a few members of this Lodge competent to fill those vacancies . That being so , I look forward with every confidence to , we will say , twenty years' time , when the Lodge will be celebrating its centenary , and I say that then it will be found as strong , as useful , and as high in the estimation of the

Craft as it is to-day . Bro . Charles Edward Keyser , P . G . D ., in proposing "The Lodge of Unions , No . 256 , " under the warrant of which the Emulation Lodge of Improvement works , said they were all deeply grateful for being able to come year after year , and

hear the estimable working of the Lodge , and all being either Provincial or London Masons , they should all be grateful to the Lodge of Unions for doing what it had clone in promoting the success of the Lodge of Improvement . As a P . M . and Treasurer of the Lodge of Unions , they all remembered the

late Bro . John Farnfield , one of the best friends of the Craft , whom they loved to hear responding to the toast , and whom they also loved for the work he did for the Charitable and Educational Masonic Institutions .

Bro . Geo . Booth Heming , P . M . and Treasurer of No . 256 , replying , said the brethren of the Lodge of Unions took it as a great honour to be on the list of toasts of the evening , and he thought it was a still greater honour for them to be associated with and to work under the same charter as the Emulation Lodge of Improvement , a Lodge which not only

maintained the dignity of the Craft , but raised the standard of working in the ritual , and , furthermore , it created a genuine enthusiasm in the hearts of all its members . He spoke with the greatest confidence , because he was a pupil for many years under the able preceptorship of Bro . Sudlow . The

name of Bro . Farnfield had been mentioned . It was very kind of Bro . Keyser to bring forward the name of that brother , whom they regretted day by day and hour by hour .