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Article PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND. ← Page 2 of 2 Article MARK BENEVOLENT FUND FESTIVAL. Page 1 of 2 Article MARK BENEVOLENT FUND FESTIVAL. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Provincial Grand Lodge Of Cumberland And Westmoreland.
be held at Frizington , under the banner of the Henry Lodge . At the conclusion of the business fche brethren dined together at the Star Hotel , under the presidency of Bro . Colonel Sewell .
Mark Benevolent Fund Festival.
MARK BENEVOLENT FUND FESTIVAL .
HPHE twentieth Anniversary Festival of the Mark Beno-- * - volent Fund Avas held on Wednesday , 25 th insfc ., at Freemasons' Tavern , Great Queen-street , London , under the presidency ofthe Marquess of Hertford Most Worshipful
Deputy Grand Mark Master . His Lordship Avas accompanied by tho Marchioness of Hertford , and was supported by a large number of Mark Masons . At the conclusion of the banquet grace was sung by Miss Minnie Freeman ,
Miss Eliza Thomas , Bro . Reginald Groome , and Bro . Stanley Smith , nnder the direction of Bro . E . M . Lott , Mus . Doc , and then the Chairman proceeded to submit the usual
toasts . He first proposed the Queen and Mark Masonry , which was duly honoured and followed by the National Anthem . Then came tho toasfc of H . R . H . fche Prince of
Wales Most Worshipful Grand Mark Master , a sentiment which met a warm reception from the assembled company . The third toast on the list was tbe Most Worshipful Pro
Grand Master Lord Egerton of Tatton , with which was coupled the Past Grand Masters of the Mark Degree . With this latter was associated the name of the Rev .
Canon Portal , who , in acknowledging the toast , said that , owing to the peculiar circumstance that the Grand Masters of the Mark Degree in England only held office for three years , they had a triennial rejuvenescence , if he
might so express it , on their throne , and every three years there Avas a fresh outburst of zeal and vigour and of interest in the Degree . The consequence was that the Grand Masters had among them erected a structure , of Avhich
none of them need bo ashamed . At any rate , five of the Past Grand Masters had presided from time to time at Festivals similar to this , and he was quite sure that as time rolled on those who ascended the Grand Master ' s throne
would , as those of the past , use their utmost exertions in support of the interest of their important Degree . Baron de Ferrieres proposed the Grand Officers Present and Pasfc . Every Degree iu Freemasonry depended very much upon
the efficiency and zeal of those who commanded . He was sure the members of the Mark Degree appreciated the zeal which the Grand Officers showed . All present must have agreed with the words of Canon Portal—that they had
built up a Degree of Avhich none of them Avere ashamed . They were all very proud of the Mark Degree . Whenever they saAV a man enter the Mark they mighfc be sure he Avas
a good Mason , for he did not stop there , * he Avished to enter every Degree , and to find out the depths of the secrets of Freemasonry . The name he Avas going to mention in connection with this toast reminded him of one Avho
was an instance in point . He had to couple with the toast the name of Lord Euston , Avho , they all knevA , Avas every inch a Mason , and aspired to all the Degrees . He hacl entered the Royal Order of Scotland , and Avas determined
to go on . Like Alexander of old , who regretted that there were no more Avorlds to conquer , Lord Euston would byand-bye regret there Avere no more Degrees for him to join . Lord Euston said he was sure that all the brethren who
had attained to Grand Office felt that they Avere getting on , and the more they got , on the more they wanted to . He thought thafc any one who went into Masonry approached it first from curiosity . When they found it Avas a good ,
charitable , brotherly Institution , they liked ifc and loA'ed it for the good it did . After that fchey tried to get on for the sake of doing good in the cause , and nobody liked to stop at the bottom of the ladder . Nobody AVOUM be Avorth
calling a really good Mason if he did , because every one Avas ambitious , arid the man Avho was nofc was one Avho safcdoAvn ancl let things go inst as they might , and did not
throAv his heart into the Avork he took up . All the brethren present took an interest in Mnsonry . For himself , he mighfc say he was a very keen Mason . When he looked round the hall he saw a number of
Grand Officers , Present and Past , many of them from his own Province . The Chairman ' s Province of Warwickshire Avas Avell represented , and they could not say the
Provincial Grand Masters were not backed up mosfc heartily and cordially in the good Avork thoy Avero trying to perform . Canon Portal said the toast he had now the honour of proposing was one which deserved all tho
Mark Benevolent Fund Festival.
attention the company mi ghfc be pleased to give it . The Brother whose health he was going to submit had nofc by any means arrived afc those heights on the ladder of the Mark Degree to Avhich he hoped to live to see him attain .
Bufc he had at any rate arrived at the top of their ladder that night , because he had been good enough to take the chair at their Festival . He ( Canon Portal ) had the pleasure , years ago , to preside afc the first of these Festi
vals ; everything must have a beginning , and he had the honour of presiding at that beginning . He found npon looking at the list that they then hacl five SteAvards and collected £ 97 . They Avere very pleased wifch themselves on
that occasion . He would not tell them how many Ste-Avards they had thafc night , or how largo the collection Avas , because if he did he should encroach on the speech of their Chairman ; but he would say that if
envy was a Masonic virtue , or a Masonic vice , ho should envy his Lordship the brilliant assembly he saw around him ; but as he could nofc envy him he contented himself with congratulating his Lordship most heartily on that most
distinguished gathering , and if the noble Lord had a claim to their most hearty thanks for having come among them in fche genial way in which he had to preside over the meeting , they owed him double thanks when they
remembered ifc was owing to his coming that they were honoured and graced with the presence of Lady Hertford . The Marquess of Hertford , in response to the toast , said he would start by observing that he cordially agreed
with the Avords that fell from Lord Euston first , and then from Canon Portal , that a good Mason should not be content to stop where he Avas , but should always be trying to get to the top of fche tree . He cordially reciprocated those
sentiments , and could assure the company that he had every intention to go on and learn as much of Masonry as he possibly could . He trusted his past record had shown he vvas keen about Masonry , and took the greatest
interest in his work . It had given him great pleasure to have the honour of presiding that evening . The brethren Avould now allow him to pass on and propose what he might call the toast of the evening , prosperity to the Mark
Benevolent Fund . His Lordship said he did nofc think ifc a very difficult task for any one to come there thafc nighfc and propose this toast . He had only fco look around and see fche large number who had attended , and when
he thought of the large numbers all over the country represented by those present , all of whom Avere doiug their best to work for the Mark Benevolent Fund , he felt prosperity was already assured . Canon Portal hacl told them of their small
beginning compared with what they Avere now . They started in the year 1869 , Avhen there were only five Ste-Avards aud a sum of £ 97 2 s 8 d Avas collected . The Mark Benevolent Fund did not pretend to compete wifch the three
great Masonic Charities of which all knew , bufc afc the same time , to begin with , Mark Masonry Avas in its infancy compared with Craffc Masonry , and was nofc nearly so numerous as they , Avhile he thought he might say Mark
Masons Avere not nearly so numerous as they intended to be . They could not attempt to get together large sums . He thought that such a sum as was got together only the other day for the Girls' Masonic School certainly had never
been equalled , and although it did nofc do to prophesy , he should say it would be long before it Avas ever surpassed . They could not attempt to compete on such a scale as thafc ; bufc they did claim for the Mark Benevolent Fund
that it Avas doing a vast amount of good Avith the limited sums afc its disposal . Perhaps he mighfc say for the benefit ofthe ladies , who were nofc so Avell acquainted Avith the objects of tho Fund , fchafc ifc is divided into three parts , one
third being given for the relief of the mosfc urgent ; cases of necessity ; another third for the Educational Fund , and the other third for Annuities . Afc fcho present time fchey wero assisting twenty-six children from the Educational
Fund at a cosfc of something over £ 400 a-year , which he believed represented a trifle over £ 15 a head . They had nofc large sums like Craft Masonry , bufc
fchey endeavoured to assist in the education of their children in as practical a Avay as possible . Some of fchem mighfc remember what he said on the lasfc occasion he hacl
bhe pleasure of meeting the Grand Mark Lodge and talking of the Benevolent Fund . He said he thought they Avere dispensing ifc in a very practical Avay—fchey assisted the
parents to pay for the education of their children , but at the same time they did nofc take away the authority of the parent . They did nofc relieve the parents from , the respon-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Provincial Grand Lodge Of Cumberland And Westmoreland.
be held at Frizington , under the banner of the Henry Lodge . At the conclusion of the business fche brethren dined together at the Star Hotel , under the presidency of Bro . Colonel Sewell .
Mark Benevolent Fund Festival.
MARK BENEVOLENT FUND FESTIVAL .
HPHE twentieth Anniversary Festival of the Mark Beno-- * - volent Fund Avas held on Wednesday , 25 th insfc ., at Freemasons' Tavern , Great Queen-street , London , under the presidency ofthe Marquess of Hertford Most Worshipful
Deputy Grand Mark Master . His Lordship Avas accompanied by tho Marchioness of Hertford , and was supported by a large number of Mark Masons . At the conclusion of the banquet grace was sung by Miss Minnie Freeman ,
Miss Eliza Thomas , Bro . Reginald Groome , and Bro . Stanley Smith , nnder the direction of Bro . E . M . Lott , Mus . Doc , and then the Chairman proceeded to submit the usual
toasts . He first proposed the Queen and Mark Masonry , which was duly honoured and followed by the National Anthem . Then came tho toasfc of H . R . H . fche Prince of
Wales Most Worshipful Grand Mark Master , a sentiment which met a warm reception from the assembled company . The third toast on the list was tbe Most Worshipful Pro
Grand Master Lord Egerton of Tatton , with which was coupled the Past Grand Masters of the Mark Degree . With this latter was associated the name of the Rev .
Canon Portal , who , in acknowledging the toast , said that , owing to the peculiar circumstance that the Grand Masters of the Mark Degree in England only held office for three years , they had a triennial rejuvenescence , if he
might so express it , on their throne , and every three years there Avas a fresh outburst of zeal and vigour and of interest in the Degree . The consequence was that the Grand Masters had among them erected a structure , of Avhich
none of them need bo ashamed . At any rate , five of the Past Grand Masters had presided from time to time at Festivals similar to this , and he was quite sure that as time rolled on those who ascended the Grand Master ' s throne
would , as those of the past , use their utmost exertions in support of the interest of their important Degree . Baron de Ferrieres proposed the Grand Officers Present and Pasfc . Every Degree iu Freemasonry depended very much upon
the efficiency and zeal of those who commanded . He was sure the members of the Mark Degree appreciated the zeal which the Grand Officers showed . All present must have agreed with the words of Canon Portal—that they had
built up a Degree of Avhich none of them Avere ashamed . They were all very proud of the Mark Degree . Whenever they saAV a man enter the Mark they mighfc be sure he Avas
a good Mason , for he did not stop there , * he Avished to enter every Degree , and to find out the depths of the secrets of Freemasonry . The name he Avas going to mention in connection with this toast reminded him of one Avho
was an instance in point . He had to couple with the toast the name of Lord Euston , Avho , they all knevA , Avas every inch a Mason , and aspired to all the Degrees . He hacl entered the Royal Order of Scotland , and Avas determined
to go on . Like Alexander of old , who regretted that there were no more Avorlds to conquer , Lord Euston would byand-bye regret there Avere no more Degrees for him to join . Lord Euston said he was sure that all the brethren who
had attained to Grand Office felt that they Avere getting on , and the more they got , on the more they wanted to . He thought thafc any one who went into Masonry approached it first from curiosity . When they found it Avas a good ,
charitable , brotherly Institution , they liked ifc and loA'ed it for the good it did . After that fchey tried to get on for the sake of doing good in the cause , and nobody liked to stop at the bottom of the ladder . Nobody AVOUM be Avorth
calling a really good Mason if he did , because every one Avas ambitious , arid the man Avho was nofc was one Avho safcdoAvn ancl let things go inst as they might , and did not
throAv his heart into the Avork he took up . All the brethren present took an interest in Mnsonry . For himself , he mighfc say he was a very keen Mason . When he looked round the hall he saw a number of
Grand Officers , Present and Past , many of them from his own Province . The Chairman ' s Province of Warwickshire Avas Avell represented , and they could not say the
Provincial Grand Masters were not backed up mosfc heartily and cordially in the good Avork thoy Avero trying to perform . Canon Portal said the toast he had now the honour of proposing was one which deserved all tho
Mark Benevolent Fund Festival.
attention the company mi ghfc be pleased to give it . The Brother whose health he was going to submit had nofc by any means arrived afc those heights on the ladder of the Mark Degree to Avhich he hoped to live to see him attain .
Bufc he had at any rate arrived at the top of their ladder that night , because he had been good enough to take the chair at their Festival . He ( Canon Portal ) had the pleasure , years ago , to preside afc the first of these Festi
vals ; everything must have a beginning , and he had the honour of presiding at that beginning . He found npon looking at the list that they then hacl five SteAvards and collected £ 97 . They Avere very pleased wifch themselves on
that occasion . He would not tell them how many Ste-Avards they had thafc night , or how largo the collection Avas , because if he did he should encroach on the speech of their Chairman ; but he would say that if
envy was a Masonic virtue , or a Masonic vice , ho should envy his Lordship the brilliant assembly he saw around him ; but as he could nofc envy him he contented himself with congratulating his Lordship most heartily on that most
distinguished gathering , and if the noble Lord had a claim to their most hearty thanks for having come among them in fche genial way in which he had to preside over the meeting , they owed him double thanks when they
remembered ifc was owing to his coming that they were honoured and graced with the presence of Lady Hertford . The Marquess of Hertford , in response to the toast , said he would start by observing that he cordially agreed
with the Avords that fell from Lord Euston first , and then from Canon Portal , that a good Mason should not be content to stop where he Avas , but should always be trying to get to the top of fche tree . He cordially reciprocated those
sentiments , and could assure the company that he had every intention to go on and learn as much of Masonry as he possibly could . He trusted his past record had shown he vvas keen about Masonry , and took the greatest
interest in his work . It had given him great pleasure to have the honour of presiding that evening . The brethren Avould now allow him to pass on and propose what he might call the toast of the evening , prosperity to the Mark
Benevolent Fund . His Lordship said he did nofc think ifc a very difficult task for any one to come there thafc nighfc and propose this toast . He had only fco look around and see fche large number who had attended , and when
he thought of the large numbers all over the country represented by those present , all of whom Avere doiug their best to work for the Mark Benevolent Fund , he felt prosperity was already assured . Canon Portal hacl told them of their small
beginning compared with what they Avere now . They started in the year 1869 , Avhen there were only five Ste-Avards aud a sum of £ 97 2 s 8 d Avas collected . The Mark Benevolent Fund did not pretend to compete wifch the three
great Masonic Charities of which all knew , bufc afc the same time , to begin with , Mark Masonry Avas in its infancy compared with Craffc Masonry , and was nofc nearly so numerous as they , Avhile he thought he might say Mark
Masons Avere not nearly so numerous as they intended to be . They could not attempt to get together large sums . He thought that such a sum as was got together only the other day for the Girls' Masonic School certainly had never
been equalled , and although it did nofc do to prophesy , he should say it would be long before it Avas ever surpassed . They could not attempt to compete on such a scale as thafc ; bufc they did claim for the Mark Benevolent Fund
that it Avas doing a vast amount of good Avith the limited sums afc its disposal . Perhaps he mighfc say for the benefit ofthe ladies , who were nofc so Avell acquainted Avith the objects of tho Fund , fchafc ifc is divided into three parts , one
third being given for the relief of the mosfc urgent ; cases of necessity ; another third for the Educational Fund , and the other third for Annuities . Afc fcho present time fchey wero assisting twenty-six children from the Educational
Fund at a cosfc of something over £ 400 a-year , which he believed represented a trifle over £ 15 a head . They had nofc large sums like Craft Masonry , bufc
fchey endeavoured to assist in the education of their children in as practical a Avay as possible . Some of fchem mighfc remember what he said on the lasfc occasion he hacl
bhe pleasure of meeting the Grand Mark Lodge and talking of the Benevolent Fund . He said he thought they Avere dispensing ifc in a very practical Avay—fchey assisted the
parents to pay for the education of their children , but at the same time they did nofc take away the authority of the parent . They did nofc relieve the parents from , the respon-