-
Articles/Ads
Article PROVINCIAL. ← Page 13 of 19 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Provincial.
Bro . Cabbell . He therefore called upon them to drink " Healthy Happiness , and Long Life to him . " The toast was drunk with great applause . The Prov . Grand Master , in returning thanks , said he had attempted to do all he could in behalf of the Order . It had been said that no one , whatever his qualifications or abilities might be , found that he had not a difficult task to perform
when he was called upon to speak of himself . He would avoid that difficulty upon the present occasion ; but with their permission he would say a word or two on the Order . He had spent the happiest moments of his life in the bosom of his Lodge , and he loved Freemasonry because he loved its principles . It had been the good fortune of this country , from the earliest times , to receive Freemasonry with open arms ; it had been received with courtesy and respect , honoured , revered , and loved ; and the exercise of its principles had given the Government a power among the nations of the world . It had also created that power of public
opinion which at the present moment ruled in the cabinet and guided the Sovereign—that public opinion which , directed and controlled by a free and independent press , tended in a great measure to influence other despotic and tyrannical governments , and thus , in some measure , might be considered to give law to the world . He ascribed the greatness of England at the present moment to the free exercise of those universal principles which were the principles of their Order . He hoped he should not be considered as infringing upon the conviviality of the moment if he expressed his regret that many of the Lodges in the province
assembled with small and diminished numbers . He hoped that they would a ^ vake from their slumber , and like giants refreshed , exhibit that activity and energy which the G . A . O . T . U . gave to man . No exertions should be wanting on his part . It was impossible to say how long his term of office might last , but whether it was long or short it was his anxious desire that , whenever the time arrived when he might be called upon to resign the trust which had been reposed in him , he might do so with the province untarnished , and its glories undiminished . He left the matter in the hands of the Brethren . No one could perform , the duties
which now devolved upon him without the support of the Brethren at large ; and he hoped to receive their warm and continued exertions , that Freemasonry might be restored to its former character within the province . If they made these exertions they would not only add to their honour and benefit , but at the same time they would promote the honour and welfare of the country , for nothing was more calculated to promote the glory of God and the welfare of mankind than the free exercise of the principles of the Order . ( Loud cheers . ) The " Prov . Grand Master of Essex and the other Officers . "
The B . W . Bro . Bagshawe responded . The " Present and Past Officers of the Prov . Grand Lodge of the Province of Norfolk . " Bro . Baker responded . " Bro . Sir Henry Stracey and the Visitors . " Bro . Sir H . J . Stracey said he felt considerable pride in being called upon to respond to the toast . As far as he was concerned he felt that he was in a peculiar
position , for he could not feel a visitor and a stranger at any meeting in Norwich , as it was so often his pleasurable lot to attend public meetings in the city . No one had more respect than he had for the Order of Freemasons , and it had been a subject of regret to him that instead of belonging to a distant Lodge he did not select Norfolk as the province in which he first became a member of their Ancient Order . The Prov . Secretary , however , informed him that he was now all but a member of the Harlestori Lodge , and he hoped also to belong to another Lodge ,
which had been particularly recommended to him . In all ages certain men had advocated Utopian views—Plato , the eloquent Cicero , and our own countryman , » Sir Thomas More , and tho versatile Coleridge—and the Order of Freemasons had carried some of these views into reality . Allusion has been made to the proud position which he held as one of the representatives of Norfolk . Ho had learned , during the parliamentary experience he had had , that long speeches had not the most effect , and he believed that on the present occasion he should consult their convenience by being brief . Nevertheless , he could not but say
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Provincial.
Bro . Cabbell . He therefore called upon them to drink " Healthy Happiness , and Long Life to him . " The toast was drunk with great applause . The Prov . Grand Master , in returning thanks , said he had attempted to do all he could in behalf of the Order . It had been said that no one , whatever his qualifications or abilities might be , found that he had not a difficult task to perform
when he was called upon to speak of himself . He would avoid that difficulty upon the present occasion ; but with their permission he would say a word or two on the Order . He had spent the happiest moments of his life in the bosom of his Lodge , and he loved Freemasonry because he loved its principles . It had been the good fortune of this country , from the earliest times , to receive Freemasonry with open arms ; it had been received with courtesy and respect , honoured , revered , and loved ; and the exercise of its principles had given the Government a power among the nations of the world . It had also created that power of public
opinion which at the present moment ruled in the cabinet and guided the Sovereign—that public opinion which , directed and controlled by a free and independent press , tended in a great measure to influence other despotic and tyrannical governments , and thus , in some measure , might be considered to give law to the world . He ascribed the greatness of England at the present moment to the free exercise of those universal principles which were the principles of their Order . He hoped he should not be considered as infringing upon the conviviality of the moment if he expressed his regret that many of the Lodges in the province
assembled with small and diminished numbers . He hoped that they would a ^ vake from their slumber , and like giants refreshed , exhibit that activity and energy which the G . A . O . T . U . gave to man . No exertions should be wanting on his part . It was impossible to say how long his term of office might last , but whether it was long or short it was his anxious desire that , whenever the time arrived when he might be called upon to resign the trust which had been reposed in him , he might do so with the province untarnished , and its glories undiminished . He left the matter in the hands of the Brethren . No one could perform , the duties
which now devolved upon him without the support of the Brethren at large ; and he hoped to receive their warm and continued exertions , that Freemasonry might be restored to its former character within the province . If they made these exertions they would not only add to their honour and benefit , but at the same time they would promote the honour and welfare of the country , for nothing was more calculated to promote the glory of God and the welfare of mankind than the free exercise of the principles of the Order . ( Loud cheers . ) The " Prov . Grand Master of Essex and the other Officers . "
The B . W . Bro . Bagshawe responded . The " Present and Past Officers of the Prov . Grand Lodge of the Province of Norfolk . " Bro . Baker responded . " Bro . Sir Henry Stracey and the Visitors . " Bro . Sir H . J . Stracey said he felt considerable pride in being called upon to respond to the toast . As far as he was concerned he felt that he was in a peculiar
position , for he could not feel a visitor and a stranger at any meeting in Norwich , as it was so often his pleasurable lot to attend public meetings in the city . No one had more respect than he had for the Order of Freemasons , and it had been a subject of regret to him that instead of belonging to a distant Lodge he did not select Norfolk as the province in which he first became a member of their Ancient Order . The Prov . Secretary , however , informed him that he was now all but a member of the Harlestori Lodge , and he hoped also to belong to another Lodge ,
which had been particularly recommended to him . In all ages certain men had advocated Utopian views—Plato , the eloquent Cicero , and our own countryman , » Sir Thomas More , and tho versatile Coleridge—and the Order of Freemasons had carried some of these views into reality . Allusion has been made to the proud position which he held as one of the representatives of Norfolk . Ho had learned , during the parliamentary experience he had had , that long speeches had not the most effect , and he believed that on the present occasion he should consult their convenience by being brief . Nevertheless , he could not but say