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Reports Of Masonic Meetings.
that they had all done their duly . He also expressed his firm belief that , in spite of the outcry against the Medical Department of the Army during the recent campaign , it would emerge from the investigation of its conduct with credit and honour to itself , the medical officers generally having done everything - they possibly could in the unfortunate position in which they were placed , which remark met
with a hearty response Irom all present who were engaged in the war . The toast of " Our Brother Visitors" was responded to by Bros . Lewis Ascott , P . M ., and George J . Dawson , P . M . The remaining toasts were duly proposed and responded to , the Tyler ' s toast bringing to a termination a highly pleasant and enjoyable evening .
MORNINGTON LODGE ( No . 1672 ) . —The installation meeting of the above lodge was held at the London Tavern , Fenchurch-street , on Thursday the 7 th inst . Bro . J . VV . Cooke , the W . AL , presided . The Three Degrees were worked most efficiently . Bro . E . Cockett , P . M ., then installed Bro . J . Perkins , C . C , the W . AI . elect , as VV . M ., who appointed his officers as follows : Bros . Baker , S . W . ; R . D . Sadler , J . W . ; Suter , S . D . ;
Rossignol , J . D . ; O'Donnel , LG . ; Ii . Cockett , D . of C . ; and Hardy and Anderson , Stewards . Bro . G . Blackman was reappointed as Treasurer and Bro . T . Palmer as Secretary . The W . AL proposed Bro . G . Philcox as a joining member and Mr . Harrold as a candidate for election . In presentinga valuable Alasonic jewel to his predecessor in office , the W . AL said that he hoped that Past Alaster Cooke would wear it for many years to come , and that he would
look upon it as a token of their friendship , and as an evidence of their sincere and great esteem . Bro . Cooke , P . AL suitably replied . The lodge having been closed in due form , the brethren adjourned to a capital banquet . There were present Bros . Sir John B . Alonckton , President of the Board of General Purposes ; Horace Jones , G . Supt . Wks . ; G . BIackman , W . P . Treacher , S . G . Redfearn , E . Cockett , J . W . Alore . T . H .
Colvcrs . R . D . Sadler , A . Suter , T . RossignoI , Thos . Minstrell , G . Drysdale , A . Beasley , F . Browne , At . Baggi , C . Levin , J . F . Haskins , Al . Gentry , A . AL Dowall , l * . Henricks , VV . Smithers , VV . Pheysey , T . Palmer , E . Pohl , and others . The usual Alasonic toasts were given ; and coupled with that of "The Grand Officers , Present and Past , " the name of Bro . Sir John B . Monckton was associated ; and ,
in reply , said that in no lodge in the Craft , young or old , had he seen the installation better performed than he had that evening , or with more feeling or more sympathetically . It became , he thought , the Grand Officers to notice those things , and to speak of them , thereby offering every encouragement to Alasons to work up . He knew many lodges which could not turn out a Past Alaster who could perform the installation ceremony , and who consequently
had to resort to the undignified proceeding of asking others to do it for them . When he saw this , he never failed to admonish the lodge upon their shortcoming . The Alornington Lodge , at any rate , were not in that predicament , for they had onc Past Alaster , at any rate , able to work the ceremony admirably , carefully , and well . In proposing "The Health of the W . M ., " Bro . Cooke , P . AI ., remarked that if the W . AL was not the first , he was
very nearly the first , initiate that the lodge had . This was when they met not far from the Epping Forest , which had been preserved to the public for ever by the great Corporation , of which their W . AI . was a member . They looked forward to a very pleasant year of office—a year which Masons valued more than anything else , viz ., one of instruction ; and he was sure , from the way in which the W . AL had worked through their various grades , that they should not be disappointed .
Thc VV . Alaster , responding , stated that as Alaster of thc lodge hc should be most anxious in the discharge of his duty to do everything which could be expected of him . It would be his endeavour to discharge the niceties of the office , and having entered upon the duties with the determination to do all hc possibly could to maintain the dignity of thc Alornington Lodge , he should persevere in his efforts and try to emulate his predecessors in the chair . "Thc Health of the Visitors , " given by the VVorshipful Master , was replied to by Bro . O . H . Colvers , in eulogistic
terms . . „ . ...,, "The Health of the Installing Alaster" was next proposed , and Bro . E . Cockett replied Bro Cooke , P . AL , responded for "The Past Alasters . " Other toasts followed , and the proceedings , which were most enjoyable , were interspersed with songs and recitations . __ ~ TtT ... *
„ THE GALLERY LODGE ( No . 1928 ) . —The installation meeting of this lodge was held on Saturday , the oth inst ., at the Brixton Hall , Acre-lane , when there was a large attendance of the members and a considerable number of visitors , among whom were Bros . J . Dunsford , ot . P . P . G . P . ; Asher , 1395 * VV . Wells , P . M . 777 ; J . SU ^;^ M / . 567 . Pf-G . S . p . Middlesex ; G . F . Pardon , 101 ; T . Wilson Reid , 392 ( S . C ); J . Hornsey Casson , li renircain
1706 P . P . G . Org . Derbyshire ; J . . o . , 1350 ; G . Mackie , 1691 ; J . Heckscher , Ferdinandc Caroline Lodge of Hamburg ; VV . E . Abrahams , 72 ; and * l . Paes-° AfteT ' thc reading of the minutes and other formal business , the W . AL , Bro . Alassey , performed the ceremony of passing Bro . Gale to the Second Degree , after which he VV . M . addressed the lodge , and Bro . H . F . Bussey , the VV M elect , was presented for the benefits of installation . he then
Having given his assent to the ancient charges was obligated , and afterwards presented to a Board of Ins a ed Alasters , in thc presence of whom he was formally installed into the chair of K . S . by his predecessor , Bro . Alassey . The Board of Alasters was then closed , the lodge resumed , and the other brethren summoned , and Bro . Bussey was then proclaimed and saluted by the brethren in the Ihrce Decrees and thereafter invested his ollicers for the coming , 5 ; tt ,, ? Ws - Bros . H . Massey , I . P . M . ; T , Minstrell ,
§ . W . ; J . Mclntyre , J . VV . ; W . Alackenz . e "uclcworlh , T „„' . * T Alberv , Sec . ; C . F . Pardon , S . D . ; W . O . G 3 dmith ' jib . ; R ^ Redman LG ; Herbert Wright and VV . T . Perkins , Stewards ; J . C . Duckworth , Al . C ; Geo . T . irran Or" * .: and Jas . Verry , 1 yler . . During th % ceremony Bro . Alason acted as Director of Ceremonies and Bro . Dr . Casson , as Organist . Bro . Massey then delivered thc orations to the W-iM ., Wardens , and brethren , and the ceremony , the whole of which had been worked in the most perfect manner , was brought to a termination .
Reports Of Masonic Meetings.
I he newly-elected W . AL then presented to Bro . Alassey on behalf of the lodge an unusually handsome jewel . Hc said that the brethren of the lodge , in giving Bro . Alassey this token ol" their appreciation of his services , wished to associate it not only with his services as Alaster , but also his co-operation , as a founder , in the formation of the lodge . It had therefore been designed as a combined Past . Master ' s and founder ' s- jewel , and in pinning it on
Bro . Alassey ' s breast hc would express thc hope that he might live many years to wear it , and be reminded each time he looked at it of the many friends he had in the Gallery Lodge . He said that the lodge had voted a certain sum for a Past Alaster ' s jewel , but the brethren thinking it insufficient to mark their appreciation of Bro . Alassey ' s services had , by a private subscription among themselves , more than doubled the amount so voted .
The jewel , which is a very handsome one , was from a design made by Bro . C . Basil Cooke , the late Secretary of the lodge . Bro . Alassey having replied thc lodge was closed in due form , and thc brethren adjourned to Freemasons' Tavern , where they dined together . After the removal of the cloth the customary list of loyal and Alasonic toasts was gone through , the intervals
between most of the speeches being enlivened with music , several songs being sung by Aliss Lizzie Alulholland , whose charming style was highly appreciated by the company . After the toasts of" The Oueen , " " The M . VV . G . AL , the Prince of Wales , " and "Thc Grand Officers" bad been duly honoured , Bro . Alassey , LP . AL , said he would now claim attention for the next toast— " The Health of the W . AL "—a toast
which hc now proposed for the first time in The Gallery Lodge , a toast which had been very gracefully proposed during the time that he had been W . AL by Bro . Allen , who , being a P . AL of another lodge , had , on the authority of the Book of Constitutions , been appointed to act as I . P . Al . during the first year of the Gallery Lodge . He ( Bro . Alassey ) was sure that every brother had been very much gratified that Bro . Bussey had been elected as their W . AL ; he was
unanimously elected , as was justly his right and his due . Bro . Bussey had performed his duties as S . W . in a way that would commend itself to the present S . W . ; and hc hoped that every one who followed him would perform those duties equally well . Their brother S . VV . had performed his duties elsewhere to the satisfaction of a large number of people , and hc had no doubt that he would perform his present duties with no less ability . During its
first year the heartiest co-operation of the members of the Gallery Lodge was necessary , and he ( Bro . Alassey ) attributed a great deal of its success to the assistance received from their present W . AL , and he was quite sure that during the time Bro . Bussey fulfilled the office of W . AL all the duties of the chair would be performed in an admirable manner . It gave him great satisfaction , as he was sure it did to every other member of
the lodge , to see the admirable manner in which the W . AL had invested his officers , and he was sure that no brother in the lodge would regret having recorded his vote in Bro . Bussey ' s favour . He had only to add , in proposing the W . Al . ' s health , that he wished him a very happy and prosperous year of office . The W . AL in rising to respond , expressed his thanks for the very kindly manner , first of all , in which the toast had
been proposed by the LP . AL , and secondly for thc very cordial manner in which it had been received . He felt exceedingly grateful to the brethren of the Gallery Lodge for the way in which they had put up with many shortcomings on his part , and for electing him to the proud position of master of The Gallery Lodge . During his year of office as S . W ., he had striven fo learn his duties , and during his year of office as master he hoped to increase his knowledge
of Alasonry and to come somewhat nearer to what they had seen in their late VV . M ., although emulation was hopeless . He thought he might claim some indulgence on that score . Though he had been a member of the Craft for a good many years , this was the fir .-t lime he had had the opportunity of occupying so high and honourable a position as that which he now held . It was a position of which he was extremely proud , for if there was one thing more than
another towards which a Alason connected with the pressand especially the London press—should aspire , he thought it was that he should become some day thc master of the Gallery Lodge , a lodge unique in its way , as representative of the members of the press who were occupied in the Parliamentary galleries . He appreciated this honour the more keenly because he was not only an old journalist , whose earliest recollections had been associated with thc press on
which he had begun his career at an unusually early age , but because he was now becoming an old member of thc Parliamentary gallery , if seventeen years service at St . Stephen ' s could entitle him to that distinction . For after all , in presence of the fact that there were two veterans of the note-book who had been in the Parliamentary galleries upwards of half a century , and a score of others whose Westminster experiences had become well seasoned
before the present Houses of Parliament were builtmen who could recollect the time when they were surreptitiously smuggled into thc Strangers' Gallery and took notes in their hats or between their legs , until they were discovered , and some one called out that there were strangers present—the man who had seen fewer than twenty years of Gallery life was but a stripling in Parliamentary estimation . Nevertheless , although a mere vouth
in Lords and Commons work , it so happened that he was the oldest of the members of thc Gallery whose names had been as yet inscribed on the books of the Gallery Lodge . When first hc came into the Gallery he found some six or seven Alasons who , in the times between heavy turns , used to lament the fact that they had no lodge ; we were enough to tile a lodge but not enough to support a lodge . That lodge had now been specially founded for the convenience
of brethren who , owing to the manner in which their time was occupied , and to thc fact that for six months in the year their duties compelled them to turn night into day , were practically excluded from the ordinary benefits of Alasonry until they had succeeded in establishing for members a lodge in which they were able to satisfy the claims of the of the Craft . After thc enlargement of thc Gallery some
two years ago , and thc increase that had taken place in its number of members from about one huudrcd to more than double that number , it was only natural to expect that a failproportion of that body would be members of the fraternity . This was found to be the case ; and it was not long after the Gallery had ceased to be a metropolitan monopoly by being thrown open to the press at large , the
Reports Of Masonic Meetings.
possibility of establishing a . Alasonic lodge for the benefit of journalists in general , and of Parliamentary reporteis in particular , was discussed and demonstrated , the credit of the suggestion , which ultimately took thc practical form of a memorial to thc Grand Lodge for the necessary authority enabling this lodge to be founded , belonged to one who at that time had not been made a member of the Order—he ( the W . AL ) referred to Bro .
Herbert Wri ght . Without wearying the brethren by entering into a detailed description of the formation of the lodge , he thought it would interest their visitors if he stated that the Gallery Lodge was founded in August , 1 SS 1 , on the memorial of seven brethren , whose names were duly inscribed on the roll as founders . Bro . Alassey , who was Past Alaster of another lodge , was the ( irst to occupy thc chair , and under his able guidance the lodge had so far
prospered that at the present moment it numbered thirtynine members , in addition to the brethren who had allowed their names to appear on the lodge book in an honorary position . Of the thirty-nine ordinary members of the lodge , no fewer than thirteen had been initiated and passed through the several Degrees by Bro . Past Master Alassey , the remainder having joined the lodge as old Freemasons . Beyond this , he might state that the lodge had started on
the sound and practical principle of paying its way as it went along , and the result was , as their excellent Treasurer had told them at the installation banquet a year ago , that they had started into existence duly provided with the requisite furniture and belongings , and after having paid all the necessary fees and ' charges , absolutely free from the incubus of debt . These were facts which he hoped , without being unduly boastful , entitled the
Oallery Lodge to the encouragement and sympathy of the fraternity at large . Through the medium of that lodge the members were endeavouring to fulfil some of the fundamental duties of Alasonry . Having established what , strangely enough in these days , when the Press had become not only free but universal , was the only Press lodge in the world , the members of the Gallery Lodge looked forward with some degree of hope to what was yet
111 store for their brethren of the Press , not only in thc United Kingdom but in other parts of the world . The occupations of journalists were of so absorbing , so constant , so multifarious , and so irregular in character , that unlike thc lawyer , the clergyman , *" or the merchant , or even the day labourer , they could not parcel out their time into periods of rest , labour and refreshment in a manner suiting the corporate c-nveniencc of thc class . Their
opportunities were few , and they had to make the most of them . For any given number of Press men to meet together for social purposes on any given week day was absolutely out of the question ; but , fortunately , there was one evening in the week on which , as a rule , they were able to call a few hours their own—those , at least , who had no work to do for the Sunday papers—and that was the Saturday . The Saturday half-holiday , which of late vears
had become almost universal in this country , was to no class of men a greater boon than to jaded journalists , and it was the Saturday that had necessaril y been chosen for the meetings of the Gallery Lodge . They had thus shown to their brethren in other important centres of population—Alanchestcr , Liverpool , Edinburgh , Glasgow , & c—that if they would but follow an example , thus far at least a successful nnr > H „ . v n »« . i •<•
, „ despair of being able to discharge their Alasonic duties . At any rate , in any efforts the journalistic Craftsmen of the provinces might be disposed to make in the direction he had indicated , he assured them they would have the full sympathy , and , if possible , the assistanc c of the members of the Gallery Lodge . As regarded their own affairs , he ( the VV . M . ) wished to say that during Bro . Alassey ' s of
year office they had , in a very tentative way , tried a Alasonic ball , which came off last January , and had been a great success . In January next it was intended that a similar ball should . be held , and from what he had heard from those who had given their time and attention to the makin" the arrangements , and who did the same last year—Bros ? Perkins , Tarran , Wright , Albery , and John Duckworth—he thought they were in the way of havinsr a verv successful
bal next January . During the past year a Gallery picnic had been tried by the W . AL , which had also been most successful ; and he ( the W . AL ) now gave the brethren due notice that when the summer came round again , and the birds were singing and the sun shining—not a frequent accident in this country—he would himself suggest that the time had come for going into the country to seek a day ' s enjoyment . Thc W . AL concluded bv arrain thankin . r th *
brethren for the compliment they had paid him , and expressing the hope that they would all live long to enjoy Alasonry , and that they would be able to make the Gallery Lodge a centre of Alasonic feeling throughout the Press of the United Kingdom . The W . AL said that he had now got away from a subject which was disagreeable to one who had to speak on subjects Dersonal In hifrw'lf .. 'iml ! , « 1 , ^ . 1 « ...,. yn . 1 . . . . « - T- | - _ i ' ,., — cuMuiu ineneaitn
, c ZC i , >—• -.. » . .. . v s [ , can LO of the Immediate Past Alaster of the Cillery Lodge . " He ( the W . AI . ) was quite sure that that toast needed only to be mentioned to be met with those unusual Alasonic manifestations of approval which mi ght arise from inexperience of the members of their lodge , but came from good feeling and came from the heart ; they came from those who had witnessed the good working and experienced the kindly conduct of thc late W . AI . He ( Bro . Bussev ) did not
sunpose ttiat any man who might occupy the chair conld stand uglier in the hearts of the brethren than Bro . Alassey . Hc had done his work in the most admirable manner , he had been most punctual in his attendance , had assisted his officers with his experience , and had done all the good he could to the brethren of the Gallery Lodge . He ( the W . AI . ) was proud to say that it had fallen to his lot to pin on Bro . ftlasscy s breast the jewel with which the hrr-n ™ r . ( n , »
,, lodge had presented him , and he hoped that no accident would happen to prevent Bro . Alassey ' s coming to the ¦ uallery Lodge for many years to come , and that the brethren would still be able to see him constantly in his place , and to enjoy his society . ' Bro . Alassey , in replying , said that he always had a verw
great objection to making a speech before coming to the table , and during his year of office whatever remarks he had made from the chair had been impromptu . That would be the case with any remarks he might now make , though it he had combined with the Worshipful Master the task before him might have been easier . He ( Bro . Massey ) , had to thank them very much for thc greatsupport they had given him dunnghis year of office , andalthough hchadhcard
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Reports Of Masonic Meetings.
that they had all done their duly . He also expressed his firm belief that , in spite of the outcry against the Medical Department of the Army during the recent campaign , it would emerge from the investigation of its conduct with credit and honour to itself , the medical officers generally having done everything - they possibly could in the unfortunate position in which they were placed , which remark met
with a hearty response Irom all present who were engaged in the war . The toast of " Our Brother Visitors" was responded to by Bros . Lewis Ascott , P . M ., and George J . Dawson , P . M . The remaining toasts were duly proposed and responded to , the Tyler ' s toast bringing to a termination a highly pleasant and enjoyable evening .
MORNINGTON LODGE ( No . 1672 ) . —The installation meeting of the above lodge was held at the London Tavern , Fenchurch-street , on Thursday the 7 th inst . Bro . J . VV . Cooke , the W . AL , presided . The Three Degrees were worked most efficiently . Bro . E . Cockett , P . M ., then installed Bro . J . Perkins , C . C , the W . AI . elect , as VV . M ., who appointed his officers as follows : Bros . Baker , S . W . ; R . D . Sadler , J . W . ; Suter , S . D . ;
Rossignol , J . D . ; O'Donnel , LG . ; Ii . Cockett , D . of C . ; and Hardy and Anderson , Stewards . Bro . G . Blackman was reappointed as Treasurer and Bro . T . Palmer as Secretary . The W . AL proposed Bro . G . Philcox as a joining member and Mr . Harrold as a candidate for election . In presentinga valuable Alasonic jewel to his predecessor in office , the W . AL said that he hoped that Past Alaster Cooke would wear it for many years to come , and that he would
look upon it as a token of their friendship , and as an evidence of their sincere and great esteem . Bro . Cooke , P . AL suitably replied . The lodge having been closed in due form , the brethren adjourned to a capital banquet . There were present Bros . Sir John B . Alonckton , President of the Board of General Purposes ; Horace Jones , G . Supt . Wks . ; G . BIackman , W . P . Treacher , S . G . Redfearn , E . Cockett , J . W . Alore . T . H .
Colvcrs . R . D . Sadler , A . Suter , T . RossignoI , Thos . Minstrell , G . Drysdale , A . Beasley , F . Browne , At . Baggi , C . Levin , J . F . Haskins , Al . Gentry , A . AL Dowall , l * . Henricks , VV . Smithers , VV . Pheysey , T . Palmer , E . Pohl , and others . The usual Alasonic toasts were given ; and coupled with that of "The Grand Officers , Present and Past , " the name of Bro . Sir John B . Monckton was associated ; and ,
in reply , said that in no lodge in the Craft , young or old , had he seen the installation better performed than he had that evening , or with more feeling or more sympathetically . It became , he thought , the Grand Officers to notice those things , and to speak of them , thereby offering every encouragement to Alasons to work up . He knew many lodges which could not turn out a Past Alaster who could perform the installation ceremony , and who consequently
had to resort to the undignified proceeding of asking others to do it for them . When he saw this , he never failed to admonish the lodge upon their shortcoming . The Alornington Lodge , at any rate , were not in that predicament , for they had onc Past Alaster , at any rate , able to work the ceremony admirably , carefully , and well . In proposing "The Health of the W . M ., " Bro . Cooke , P . AI ., remarked that if the W . AL was not the first , he was
very nearly the first , initiate that the lodge had . This was when they met not far from the Epping Forest , which had been preserved to the public for ever by the great Corporation , of which their W . AI . was a member . They looked forward to a very pleasant year of office—a year which Masons valued more than anything else , viz ., one of instruction ; and he was sure , from the way in which the W . AL had worked through their various grades , that they should not be disappointed .
Thc VV . Alaster , responding , stated that as Alaster of thc lodge hc should be most anxious in the discharge of his duty to do everything which could be expected of him . It would be his endeavour to discharge the niceties of the office , and having entered upon the duties with the determination to do all hc possibly could to maintain the dignity of thc Alornington Lodge , he should persevere in his efforts and try to emulate his predecessors in the chair . "Thc Health of the Visitors , " given by the VVorshipful Master , was replied to by Bro . O . H . Colvers , in eulogistic
terms . . „ . ...,, "The Health of the Installing Alaster" was next proposed , and Bro . E . Cockett replied Bro Cooke , P . AL , responded for "The Past Alasters . " Other toasts followed , and the proceedings , which were most enjoyable , were interspersed with songs and recitations . __ ~ TtT ... *
„ THE GALLERY LODGE ( No . 1928 ) . —The installation meeting of this lodge was held on Saturday , the oth inst ., at the Brixton Hall , Acre-lane , when there was a large attendance of the members and a considerable number of visitors , among whom were Bros . J . Dunsford , ot . P . P . G . P . ; Asher , 1395 * VV . Wells , P . M . 777 ; J . SU ^;^ M / . 567 . Pf-G . S . p . Middlesex ; G . F . Pardon , 101 ; T . Wilson Reid , 392 ( S . C ); J . Hornsey Casson , li renircain
1706 P . P . G . Org . Derbyshire ; J . . o . , 1350 ; G . Mackie , 1691 ; J . Heckscher , Ferdinandc Caroline Lodge of Hamburg ; VV . E . Abrahams , 72 ; and * l . Paes-° AfteT ' thc reading of the minutes and other formal business , the W . AL , Bro . Alassey , performed the ceremony of passing Bro . Gale to the Second Degree , after which he VV . M . addressed the lodge , and Bro . H . F . Bussey , the VV M elect , was presented for the benefits of installation . he then
Having given his assent to the ancient charges was obligated , and afterwards presented to a Board of Ins a ed Alasters , in thc presence of whom he was formally installed into the chair of K . S . by his predecessor , Bro . Alassey . The Board of Alasters was then closed , the lodge resumed , and the other brethren summoned , and Bro . Bussey was then proclaimed and saluted by the brethren in the Ihrce Decrees and thereafter invested his ollicers for the coming , 5 ; tt ,, ? Ws - Bros . H . Massey , I . P . M . ; T , Minstrell ,
§ . W . ; J . Mclntyre , J . VV . ; W . Alackenz . e "uclcworlh , T „„' . * T Alberv , Sec . ; C . F . Pardon , S . D . ; W . O . G 3 dmith ' jib . ; R ^ Redman LG ; Herbert Wright and VV . T . Perkins , Stewards ; J . C . Duckworth , Al . C ; Geo . T . irran Or" * .: and Jas . Verry , 1 yler . . During th % ceremony Bro . Alason acted as Director of Ceremonies and Bro . Dr . Casson , as Organist . Bro . Massey then delivered thc orations to the W-iM ., Wardens , and brethren , and the ceremony , the whole of which had been worked in the most perfect manner , was brought to a termination .
Reports Of Masonic Meetings.
I he newly-elected W . AL then presented to Bro . Alassey on behalf of the lodge an unusually handsome jewel . Hc said that the brethren of the lodge , in giving Bro . Alassey this token ol" their appreciation of his services , wished to associate it not only with his services as Alaster , but also his co-operation , as a founder , in the formation of the lodge . It had therefore been designed as a combined Past . Master ' s and founder ' s- jewel , and in pinning it on
Bro . Alassey ' s breast hc would express thc hope that he might live many years to wear it , and be reminded each time he looked at it of the many friends he had in the Gallery Lodge . He said that the lodge had voted a certain sum for a Past Alaster ' s jewel , but the brethren thinking it insufficient to mark their appreciation of Bro . Alassey ' s services had , by a private subscription among themselves , more than doubled the amount so voted .
The jewel , which is a very handsome one , was from a design made by Bro . C . Basil Cooke , the late Secretary of the lodge . Bro . Alassey having replied thc lodge was closed in due form , and thc brethren adjourned to Freemasons' Tavern , where they dined together . After the removal of the cloth the customary list of loyal and Alasonic toasts was gone through , the intervals
between most of the speeches being enlivened with music , several songs being sung by Aliss Lizzie Alulholland , whose charming style was highly appreciated by the company . After the toasts of" The Oueen , " " The M . VV . G . AL , the Prince of Wales , " and "Thc Grand Officers" bad been duly honoured , Bro . Alassey , LP . AL , said he would now claim attention for the next toast— " The Health of the W . AL "—a toast
which hc now proposed for the first time in The Gallery Lodge , a toast which had been very gracefully proposed during the time that he had been W . AL by Bro . Allen , who , being a P . AL of another lodge , had , on the authority of the Book of Constitutions , been appointed to act as I . P . Al . during the first year of the Gallery Lodge . He ( Bro . Alassey ) was sure that every brother had been very much gratified that Bro . Bussey had been elected as their W . AL ; he was
unanimously elected , as was justly his right and his due . Bro . Bussey had performed his duties as S . W . in a way that would commend itself to the present S . W . ; and hc hoped that every one who followed him would perform those duties equally well . Their brother S . VV . had performed his duties elsewhere to the satisfaction of a large number of people , and hc had no doubt that he would perform his present duties with no less ability . During its
first year the heartiest co-operation of the members of the Gallery Lodge was necessary , and he ( Bro . Alassey ) attributed a great deal of its success to the assistance received from their present W . AL , and he was quite sure that during the time Bro . Bussey fulfilled the office of W . AL all the duties of the chair would be performed in an admirable manner . It gave him great satisfaction , as he was sure it did to every other member of
the lodge , to see the admirable manner in which the W . AL had invested his officers , and he was sure that no brother in the lodge would regret having recorded his vote in Bro . Bussey ' s favour . He had only to add , in proposing the W . Al . ' s health , that he wished him a very happy and prosperous year of office . The W . AL in rising to respond , expressed his thanks for the very kindly manner , first of all , in which the toast had
been proposed by the LP . AL , and secondly for thc very cordial manner in which it had been received . He felt exceedingly grateful to the brethren of the Gallery Lodge for the way in which they had put up with many shortcomings on his part , and for electing him to the proud position of master of The Gallery Lodge . During his year of office as S . W ., he had striven fo learn his duties , and during his year of office as master he hoped to increase his knowledge
of Alasonry and to come somewhat nearer to what they had seen in their late VV . M ., although emulation was hopeless . He thought he might claim some indulgence on that score . Though he had been a member of the Craft for a good many years , this was the fir .-t lime he had had the opportunity of occupying so high and honourable a position as that which he now held . It was a position of which he was extremely proud , for if there was one thing more than
another towards which a Alason connected with the pressand especially the London press—should aspire , he thought it was that he should become some day thc master of the Gallery Lodge , a lodge unique in its way , as representative of the members of the press who were occupied in the Parliamentary galleries . He appreciated this honour the more keenly because he was not only an old journalist , whose earliest recollections had been associated with thc press on
which he had begun his career at an unusually early age , but because he was now becoming an old member of thc Parliamentary gallery , if seventeen years service at St . Stephen ' s could entitle him to that distinction . For after all , in presence of the fact that there were two veterans of the note-book who had been in the Parliamentary galleries upwards of half a century , and a score of others whose Westminster experiences had become well seasoned
before the present Houses of Parliament were builtmen who could recollect the time when they were surreptitiously smuggled into thc Strangers' Gallery and took notes in their hats or between their legs , until they were discovered , and some one called out that there were strangers present—the man who had seen fewer than twenty years of Gallery life was but a stripling in Parliamentary estimation . Nevertheless , although a mere vouth
in Lords and Commons work , it so happened that he was the oldest of the members of thc Gallery whose names had been as yet inscribed on the books of the Gallery Lodge . When first hc came into the Gallery he found some six or seven Alasons who , in the times between heavy turns , used to lament the fact that they had no lodge ; we were enough to tile a lodge but not enough to support a lodge . That lodge had now been specially founded for the convenience
of brethren who , owing to the manner in which their time was occupied , and to thc fact that for six months in the year their duties compelled them to turn night into day , were practically excluded from the ordinary benefits of Alasonry until they had succeeded in establishing for members a lodge in which they were able to satisfy the claims of the of the Craft . After thc enlargement of thc Gallery some
two years ago , and thc increase that had taken place in its number of members from about one huudrcd to more than double that number , it was only natural to expect that a failproportion of that body would be members of the fraternity . This was found to be the case ; and it was not long after the Gallery had ceased to be a metropolitan monopoly by being thrown open to the press at large , the
Reports Of Masonic Meetings.
possibility of establishing a . Alasonic lodge for the benefit of journalists in general , and of Parliamentary reporteis in particular , was discussed and demonstrated , the credit of the suggestion , which ultimately took thc practical form of a memorial to thc Grand Lodge for the necessary authority enabling this lodge to be founded , belonged to one who at that time had not been made a member of the Order—he ( the W . AL ) referred to Bro .
Herbert Wri ght . Without wearying the brethren by entering into a detailed description of the formation of the lodge , he thought it would interest their visitors if he stated that the Gallery Lodge was founded in August , 1 SS 1 , on the memorial of seven brethren , whose names were duly inscribed on the roll as founders . Bro . Alassey , who was Past Alaster of another lodge , was the ( irst to occupy thc chair , and under his able guidance the lodge had so far
prospered that at the present moment it numbered thirtynine members , in addition to the brethren who had allowed their names to appear on the lodge book in an honorary position . Of the thirty-nine ordinary members of the lodge , no fewer than thirteen had been initiated and passed through the several Degrees by Bro . Past Master Alassey , the remainder having joined the lodge as old Freemasons . Beyond this , he might state that the lodge had started on
the sound and practical principle of paying its way as it went along , and the result was , as their excellent Treasurer had told them at the installation banquet a year ago , that they had started into existence duly provided with the requisite furniture and belongings , and after having paid all the necessary fees and ' charges , absolutely free from the incubus of debt . These were facts which he hoped , without being unduly boastful , entitled the
Oallery Lodge to the encouragement and sympathy of the fraternity at large . Through the medium of that lodge the members were endeavouring to fulfil some of the fundamental duties of Alasonry . Having established what , strangely enough in these days , when the Press had become not only free but universal , was the only Press lodge in the world , the members of the Gallery Lodge looked forward with some degree of hope to what was yet
111 store for their brethren of the Press , not only in thc United Kingdom but in other parts of the world . The occupations of journalists were of so absorbing , so constant , so multifarious , and so irregular in character , that unlike thc lawyer , the clergyman , *" or the merchant , or even the day labourer , they could not parcel out their time into periods of rest , labour and refreshment in a manner suiting the corporate c-nveniencc of thc class . Their
opportunities were few , and they had to make the most of them . For any given number of Press men to meet together for social purposes on any given week day was absolutely out of the question ; but , fortunately , there was one evening in the week on which , as a rule , they were able to call a few hours their own—those , at least , who had no work to do for the Sunday papers—and that was the Saturday . The Saturday half-holiday , which of late vears
had become almost universal in this country , was to no class of men a greater boon than to jaded journalists , and it was the Saturday that had necessaril y been chosen for the meetings of the Gallery Lodge . They had thus shown to their brethren in other important centres of population—Alanchestcr , Liverpool , Edinburgh , Glasgow , & c—that if they would but follow an example , thus far at least a successful nnr > H „ . v n »« . i •<•
, „ despair of being able to discharge their Alasonic duties . At any rate , in any efforts the journalistic Craftsmen of the provinces might be disposed to make in the direction he had indicated , he assured them they would have the full sympathy , and , if possible , the assistanc c of the members of the Gallery Lodge . As regarded their own affairs , he ( the VV . M . ) wished to say that during Bro . Alassey ' s of
year office they had , in a very tentative way , tried a Alasonic ball , which came off last January , and had been a great success . In January next it was intended that a similar ball should . be held , and from what he had heard from those who had given their time and attention to the makin" the arrangements , and who did the same last year—Bros ? Perkins , Tarran , Wright , Albery , and John Duckworth—he thought they were in the way of havinsr a verv successful
bal next January . During the past year a Gallery picnic had been tried by the W . AL , which had also been most successful ; and he ( the W . AL ) now gave the brethren due notice that when the summer came round again , and the birds were singing and the sun shining—not a frequent accident in this country—he would himself suggest that the time had come for going into the country to seek a day ' s enjoyment . Thc W . AL concluded bv arrain thankin . r th *
brethren for the compliment they had paid him , and expressing the hope that they would all live long to enjoy Alasonry , and that they would be able to make the Gallery Lodge a centre of Alasonic feeling throughout the Press of the United Kingdom . The W . AL said that he had now got away from a subject which was disagreeable to one who had to speak on subjects Dersonal In hifrw'lf .. 'iml ! , « 1 , ^ . 1 « ...,. yn . 1 . . . . « - T- | - _ i ' ,., — cuMuiu ineneaitn
, c ZC i , >—• -.. » . .. . v s [ , can LO of the Immediate Past Alaster of the Cillery Lodge . " He ( the W . AI . ) was quite sure that that toast needed only to be mentioned to be met with those unusual Alasonic manifestations of approval which mi ght arise from inexperience of the members of their lodge , but came from good feeling and came from the heart ; they came from those who had witnessed the good working and experienced the kindly conduct of thc late W . AI . He ( Bro . Bussev ) did not
sunpose ttiat any man who might occupy the chair conld stand uglier in the hearts of the brethren than Bro . Alassey . Hc had done his work in the most admirable manner , he had been most punctual in his attendance , had assisted his officers with his experience , and had done all the good he could to the brethren of the Gallery Lodge . He ( the W . AI . ) was proud to say that it had fallen to his lot to pin on Bro . ftlasscy s breast the jewel with which the hrr-n ™ r . ( n , »
,, lodge had presented him , and he hoped that no accident would happen to prevent Bro . Alassey ' s coming to the ¦ uallery Lodge for many years to come , and that the brethren would still be able to see him constantly in his place , and to enjoy his society . ' Bro . Alassey , in replying , said that he always had a verw
great objection to making a speech before coming to the table , and during his year of office whatever remarks he had made from the chair had been impromptu . That would be the case with any remarks he might now make , though it he had combined with the Worshipful Master the task before him might have been easier . He ( Bro . Massey ) , had to thank them very much for thc greatsupport they had given him dunnghis year of office , andalthough hchadhcard