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Article JUBILEE OF ST. GEORGE LODGE, BOMBAY. ← Page 3 of 3 Article DUBLIN MASONIC SCHOOLS. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Jubilee Of St. George Lodge, Bombay.
Masonic Lodge of Englishman to hold together in a foreign land for the long period of fifty years . Many of us enter the bonds of Masonry from a feeling of curiosity and a desire to know what the peculiar secrets of the Craft are , and when those mysteries have once been ascertained it is optional for
any Brother to take his vows away with him and never again attend a Lodge of Freemasons , but , strange as it may appear to the outside world , the value of our art becomes greater as we know more of it , the great beauties of our faith grow , and We linger and remain , and , I venture to say , that no man
who once becomes a Mason ever regrets the step he has taken . The annals of Lodge St . George include the names of many men who have helped to build up the history of this city of Bombay and to render it one of the foremost in the world . Many of the most prominent men of their time ,
whether it was in 18 4 8 or the present year , have had their names enrolled amongst its list of members , and , as I said just how , the bond of Masonry must be great indeed if a small Lodge like this St . George can boast a history which includes such names as the late Bros . James Gibbs , Tyrrel
Leith , and Harold King , and of the present time H . R . H . the Duke of Connaught and H . E . Lord Sandhurst . " Masonry universal " is a sentiment which we Brethren in this country can fully appreciate , but it was left to our Bro . Dunn to bring home to the Masons of England the true
meaning of the expression on the occasion when our English Brethren met together at the Albert Hall , in London , to celebrate the sixtieth year of the reign of her Majesty the Queen-Empress . In responding to one of the toasts he was able to say that a long residence in the East had enabled
him to discover that the ties of the Craft were more powerful than any other bond , whether it was creed , caste , or lineage , and that the Light of Masonry had permitted him to meet men of all religions on the same ground of equality , and even to break down the prejudices of Shylock who , it will be remembered , said : —
" I will not eat , drink , nor pray with you , " because he was not of the Christian faith ; but the tenets of our peculiar laws render such restrictions impossible , and we Brethren of the Craft meet on common ground—the ground of natural equality and mutual dependence . Brethren , I am
glad to be able to say that the history of Lodge St . George in the present year is not likely to be dimmed by any of its forerunners . We have many ardent members , and every meeting we hold speaks to the fervency of the Brethren who belong to it . It is a long cry to 194 8 , but when that year
comes , and I hope that many of you will be present when it does , and the Lodge has completed a century of existence , I am confident that whoever has the honour to be the Master on that occasion will be able to render a good-account of the Lodge in the meanwhile . Before I sit down I would beg to
thank you most heartily and humbly for the kind way in which you have drunk my health , and to say that whilst the welfare of this Lodge is my welfare , it would be impossible
for the Lodge to be in its present state of prosperity were it not for the able and kind support I have received during the time I have been in the chair , from my Officers and the members as a body .
Brother Shields then gave the toast of the Visitors , and while doing so observed that the Worshipful Master had invited the Visitors to the Centenary of the Lodge , and he only hoped that they would all be able to attend . In coupling with the toast the name of Bro . Darasha R . Chichgar , he
said that that Brother was well-known to them all , and his excellent services to Freemasonry were probably greater than those of any other Brother in Bombay . To Bro . Chichgar they owed a deep debt of gratitude for assisting them that evening in their preparations , and to him the Craft generally
owed a great debt for the exertions he had made , both in the past and present , as Secretary and Treasurer of the Joint Hall Committee , and more especially for the very great help he had given in raising the fund for the building of the new Hall , which they soon hoped to occupy . There was also
another distinguished Mason present , Bro . Tait , who , he hoped , would be benefitted in health by his being transferred to Bombay from Sind . There was also Bro . Counsell , who
was one of the oldest Past Masters in English Freemasonry in Bombay , and one to whom the Lodge was particularly indebted . He coupled the names of Bros . Chichgar , Tait , and Counsell with the toast of the Visitors .
Bros . Darasha Chichgar , Tait , and Counsell responded to the toast , and in doing so wished prosperity to the Lodge , which was second to none as to its charity and working . The Tyler ' s toast was drunk in solemn silence , and the Brethren separated . — " Times of India . "
Dublin Masonic Schools.
DUBLIN MASONIC SCHOOLS .
ON Saturday a large party of Freemasons and their friends from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Down journeyed to Dublin for the purpose of visiting and inspecting the Masonic Female Orphan School at Ball's Bridge , and the Masonic Boys School at Banelagh . These two Institutions are yearly receiving extended support from the various Provinces and Lodges
throughout the country , and now they are in the very highest rank of kindred institutions in the United Kindom . The system of Provincial visits , when was inaugurated a year or so ago , has been found to be of incalculable efficacy in bringing home to members of the Order scattered through the country the scope of
the working of the Schools , and the admirable results flowing from their teaching . The visit was arranged on lines similar to that paid in 1897 by the Brethren of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Antrim , and was organised by Colonel Thomas A . M'Cammon
Deputy Provincial Grand Master , and Dr . Francis G . Crossle Provincial Grand Secretary of Down . Brother John M'Gonnell , J . P ., representative of the Grand Lodge of Alabama , also accompanied the party , some 250 ladies and gentlemen taking part in the visit and inspection .
The Female Orphan School at Ball ' s Bridge was first visited . Here the party was received by Brother Lord Justice Fitzgibbon Vice Patron , Brother Graves S . Eves , J . P ., Hon . Sec . of the School , Brother John Holdbrook , B . A ., Assistant Secretary , and other members of the Education Committee . They were shown through the dormitories , dining room , play room , kitchen , and
other sections of the School , and admired to the full the excellent arrangements , and the bright , clean , and airy appearance of all the apartments . Subsequantly they assembled in the drill hall , when the pupils went through a series of calisthenic exercises in splendid style . At the conclusion they sang the National Anthem .
Lord Justice Fitzgibbon , addressing the gathering , said his Brethren had asked him to say a few words to the deputationists . The first matter he had to mention was their and his deep regret that the Deputy Grand Master of Ireland was not able to be present to welcome them . He had been confined to bed by
illness . He was the senior vice President of that School ex-ofBcio , and he had been for many years a member of its Educational Committee , and one of those who worked hardest for the welfare of the Institution . He might DOW remind them that they had up to the preseut been seeing only one of their two
Schools , and that everything he could say or that could be said for the Girls School could equally be said for the other place . The other was a good deal younger , and therefore was a little shorter in stature . They had 80 boys , as against 104 girls . The Girls School had been growing since 1792 . It had been all that
time , they trusted , growing in grace , increasing in stature and in usefulness , and at no time did it occupy a better position that it occupied that day . Beginning in 186 ( 5 the Boys School up to the present ran a race—what the sailors would call a " stern chase "with the Girls Institution , and when the two Institutions stood
breast to breast , and on equal terms in regard to their utility , the Brethren would be satisfied , but not till then . They greeted very heartily and very thankfully that visit , because they had always a difficulty in reaching their country Brethren , in reaching their good feeling , and bringing to them a knowledge of the work that
was being done in these places . They heard continually from distant places observations made on their Schools , and their work , and the way they did it , that it only required a single visit to show to be a mistake . They were sometimes told that they were wasting their money on luxuries for their children ; and that they
gave them education beyond their needs . He could tell them that both these statements were entirely a mistiake . Every girl or boy who entered either of these Institutions entered it in the same way in which his or her father entered their ancient Order —on the square , and to be taught that they were equals of those
about them . As regarded the instruction given being too good for its purpose , let them not forget what that purpose was . The purpose was to train these children to make their own livelihood , as independent , God-fearing members of society , and to be able to hold up their heads in the world as owing nothing to anyone ,
except to those who had trained them m the way that they should go . On the day that a pupil entered that Institution constant observation and care were used to try and find out what the child was fitted for . Their only difficulty sometimes was that the mothers and friends of some of the children thought they were
not doing enough for them in the way of giving them a superior education such as they thought was warranted by their position in life . But , their principle being firstly to ascertain what the child was capable of , the next thing they looked to was to give
them the very best teaching in the way in which his or her capacity ran , and the results continued to be eminently satisfactory . From the Girls School in the present year in the literary field 29 of their children had passed the Intermediate Examinations in a year when the examinations were exceptionally
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Jubilee Of St. George Lodge, Bombay.
Masonic Lodge of Englishman to hold together in a foreign land for the long period of fifty years . Many of us enter the bonds of Masonry from a feeling of curiosity and a desire to know what the peculiar secrets of the Craft are , and when those mysteries have once been ascertained it is optional for
any Brother to take his vows away with him and never again attend a Lodge of Freemasons , but , strange as it may appear to the outside world , the value of our art becomes greater as we know more of it , the great beauties of our faith grow , and We linger and remain , and , I venture to say , that no man
who once becomes a Mason ever regrets the step he has taken . The annals of Lodge St . George include the names of many men who have helped to build up the history of this city of Bombay and to render it one of the foremost in the world . Many of the most prominent men of their time ,
whether it was in 18 4 8 or the present year , have had their names enrolled amongst its list of members , and , as I said just how , the bond of Masonry must be great indeed if a small Lodge like this St . George can boast a history which includes such names as the late Bros . James Gibbs , Tyrrel
Leith , and Harold King , and of the present time H . R . H . the Duke of Connaught and H . E . Lord Sandhurst . " Masonry universal " is a sentiment which we Brethren in this country can fully appreciate , but it was left to our Bro . Dunn to bring home to the Masons of England the true
meaning of the expression on the occasion when our English Brethren met together at the Albert Hall , in London , to celebrate the sixtieth year of the reign of her Majesty the Queen-Empress . In responding to one of the toasts he was able to say that a long residence in the East had enabled
him to discover that the ties of the Craft were more powerful than any other bond , whether it was creed , caste , or lineage , and that the Light of Masonry had permitted him to meet men of all religions on the same ground of equality , and even to break down the prejudices of Shylock who , it will be remembered , said : —
" I will not eat , drink , nor pray with you , " because he was not of the Christian faith ; but the tenets of our peculiar laws render such restrictions impossible , and we Brethren of the Craft meet on common ground—the ground of natural equality and mutual dependence . Brethren , I am
glad to be able to say that the history of Lodge St . George in the present year is not likely to be dimmed by any of its forerunners . We have many ardent members , and every meeting we hold speaks to the fervency of the Brethren who belong to it . It is a long cry to 194 8 , but when that year
comes , and I hope that many of you will be present when it does , and the Lodge has completed a century of existence , I am confident that whoever has the honour to be the Master on that occasion will be able to render a good-account of the Lodge in the meanwhile . Before I sit down I would beg to
thank you most heartily and humbly for the kind way in which you have drunk my health , and to say that whilst the welfare of this Lodge is my welfare , it would be impossible
for the Lodge to be in its present state of prosperity were it not for the able and kind support I have received during the time I have been in the chair , from my Officers and the members as a body .
Brother Shields then gave the toast of the Visitors , and while doing so observed that the Worshipful Master had invited the Visitors to the Centenary of the Lodge , and he only hoped that they would all be able to attend . In coupling with the toast the name of Bro . Darasha R . Chichgar , he
said that that Brother was well-known to them all , and his excellent services to Freemasonry were probably greater than those of any other Brother in Bombay . To Bro . Chichgar they owed a deep debt of gratitude for assisting them that evening in their preparations , and to him the Craft generally
owed a great debt for the exertions he had made , both in the past and present , as Secretary and Treasurer of the Joint Hall Committee , and more especially for the very great help he had given in raising the fund for the building of the new Hall , which they soon hoped to occupy . There was also
another distinguished Mason present , Bro . Tait , who , he hoped , would be benefitted in health by his being transferred to Bombay from Sind . There was also Bro . Counsell , who
was one of the oldest Past Masters in English Freemasonry in Bombay , and one to whom the Lodge was particularly indebted . He coupled the names of Bros . Chichgar , Tait , and Counsell with the toast of the Visitors .
Bros . Darasha Chichgar , Tait , and Counsell responded to the toast , and in doing so wished prosperity to the Lodge , which was second to none as to its charity and working . The Tyler ' s toast was drunk in solemn silence , and the Brethren separated . — " Times of India . "
Dublin Masonic Schools.
DUBLIN MASONIC SCHOOLS .
ON Saturday a large party of Freemasons and their friends from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Down journeyed to Dublin for the purpose of visiting and inspecting the Masonic Female Orphan School at Ball's Bridge , and the Masonic Boys School at Banelagh . These two Institutions are yearly receiving extended support from the various Provinces and Lodges
throughout the country , and now they are in the very highest rank of kindred institutions in the United Kindom . The system of Provincial visits , when was inaugurated a year or so ago , has been found to be of incalculable efficacy in bringing home to members of the Order scattered through the country the scope of
the working of the Schools , and the admirable results flowing from their teaching . The visit was arranged on lines similar to that paid in 1897 by the Brethren of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Antrim , and was organised by Colonel Thomas A . M'Cammon
Deputy Provincial Grand Master , and Dr . Francis G . Crossle Provincial Grand Secretary of Down . Brother John M'Gonnell , J . P ., representative of the Grand Lodge of Alabama , also accompanied the party , some 250 ladies and gentlemen taking part in the visit and inspection .
The Female Orphan School at Ball ' s Bridge was first visited . Here the party was received by Brother Lord Justice Fitzgibbon Vice Patron , Brother Graves S . Eves , J . P ., Hon . Sec . of the School , Brother John Holdbrook , B . A ., Assistant Secretary , and other members of the Education Committee . They were shown through the dormitories , dining room , play room , kitchen , and
other sections of the School , and admired to the full the excellent arrangements , and the bright , clean , and airy appearance of all the apartments . Subsequantly they assembled in the drill hall , when the pupils went through a series of calisthenic exercises in splendid style . At the conclusion they sang the National Anthem .
Lord Justice Fitzgibbon , addressing the gathering , said his Brethren had asked him to say a few words to the deputationists . The first matter he had to mention was their and his deep regret that the Deputy Grand Master of Ireland was not able to be present to welcome them . He had been confined to bed by
illness . He was the senior vice President of that School ex-ofBcio , and he had been for many years a member of its Educational Committee , and one of those who worked hardest for the welfare of the Institution . He might DOW remind them that they had up to the preseut been seeing only one of their two
Schools , and that everything he could say or that could be said for the Girls School could equally be said for the other place . The other was a good deal younger , and therefore was a little shorter in stature . They had 80 boys , as against 104 girls . The Girls School had been growing since 1792 . It had been all that
time , they trusted , growing in grace , increasing in stature and in usefulness , and at no time did it occupy a better position that it occupied that day . Beginning in 186 ( 5 the Boys School up to the present ran a race—what the sailors would call a " stern chase "with the Girls Institution , and when the two Institutions stood
breast to breast , and on equal terms in regard to their utility , the Brethren would be satisfied , but not till then . They greeted very heartily and very thankfully that visit , because they had always a difficulty in reaching their country Brethren , in reaching their good feeling , and bringing to them a knowledge of the work that
was being done in these places . They heard continually from distant places observations made on their Schools , and their work , and the way they did it , that it only required a single visit to show to be a mistake . They were sometimes told that they were wasting their money on luxuries for their children ; and that they
gave them education beyond their needs . He could tell them that both these statements were entirely a mistiake . Every girl or boy who entered either of these Institutions entered it in the same way in which his or her father entered their ancient Order —on the square , and to be taught that they were equals of those
about them . As regarded the instruction given being too good for its purpose , let them not forget what that purpose was . The purpose was to train these children to make their own livelihood , as independent , God-fearing members of society , and to be able to hold up their heads in the world as owing nothing to anyone ,
except to those who had trained them m the way that they should go . On the day that a pupil entered that Institution constant observation and care were used to try and find out what the child was fitted for . Their only difficulty sometimes was that the mothers and friends of some of the children thought they were
not doing enough for them in the way of giving them a superior education such as they thought was warranted by their position in life . But , their principle being firstly to ascertain what the child was capable of , the next thing they looked to was to give
them the very best teaching in the way in which his or her capacity ran , and the results continued to be eminently satisfactory . From the Girls School in the present year in the literary field 29 of their children had passed the Intermediate Examinations in a year when the examinations were exceptionally