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Article ANALYSIS OF THE RETURNS. ← Page 4 of 4 Article ANALYSIS OF THE RETURNS. Page 4 of 4 Article CONSECRATION OF THE LODGE OF HOPE, No. 2153, AT GOSPORT. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Analysis Of The Returns.
SOUTH WALES ( EAST DIVISION ) , has done fairly well , Bro . VV . C . Peace as representative of the province , having compiled a list of £ 140 . But its 16 lodges raised £ 400 last year , £ 200 for each School , and £ 360 in 1 SS 4 , namely , £ 160 for the Girls' and £ 200 for the Boys' . However , the decrease is one that must be looked for from time to time . We pass on to the country of the Potteries , and we find that
STAFFORDSHIRE , As usual , is well represented , Bros . Vernon and the Rev . W . Randall sharing between them the representation of the Province , and figuring for a combined list of £ 204 15 s . Its one Steward in February—Bro . W . H . Bailey—handed in a total of over £ 204 , so that there is good reason lo hope the Province , which musters 27 lodges , will show to as great
advantage as in 1 SS 5 and 18 S 4 , when it distributed £ 697 and £ 646 respectively among our three Institutions . We must not omit to mention that a very large proportion of the money raised for Wednesday is derived from that excellent local organisation , the Staffordshire Masonic Charitable Association , which , though of comparatively recent establishment , is doing some splendid work . In our remarks on the contribution of
SUFFOLK To the Benevolent Institution in February last we hinted at the pleasure the late Lord Waveney would have experienced had he been spared to hear of the handsome total then raised by the Province with which he had so long and so intimately been associated . The total was in excess of £ 300—the exact sum being £ 305 ios . —and on Wednesday a further amount of £ 137 os . ' 6 d ., of which £ 126 10 s . 6 d . was on the list of Bro . Phillips , as Steward for the whole
Province , came in conveniently lo swell the returns to the Girls School . There are 21 lodges on the roll ; but the county is chiefly an agricultural one , and we all know that agriculture has been the reverse of prosperous for some time past , so that Suffolk is entitled to an amount of kudos even beyond what the aggregate of its subscriptions would justify , the total for the last eight Festivals , including that of Wednesday being about £ 1800 . Our next stage brings us to the Chairman's Province of
SURREY , Which has summarily disposed of the misgivings that were fell as to its ability—there were never any as to its goodwill—to repeat the success of 1883 , when General Brownrigg was Chairman at the Benevolent Festival , by compiling the grand total of £ 1328 195 . 6 d ., and thus securing to itself the premier place among the Provincial contributions . We must plead guilty
lo having shared in those misgivings , which , as will have been gathered from our remarks of last week , we based on a conjunction of unfortunale circumstances that might be deplored , but could not be controlled , and the best , indeed , the only atonement we can make to the Province is to congratulate it on a success , which , as it has been achieved in the face of so many difficulties , is , on that very account , so much the more honourable . We now give no
further thought to absent lodges , which , as the Provincial Grand Lodge voted 100 guineas out of its funds , were not absent in reality , when we look at this total , which surpasses anything that Surrey has done previously , and will compare most favourably with what has been done by the Provinces of other Chairmen , under conditions far more auspicious . As to the composition of the £ 1328 odd , we have noted already that Provincial Grand Lodge figures
for £ 105 , the Chairman s list , including his own personal donation , is , in round figures , £ 193 , while that of Bro . Joseph D . Langton , for the George Price Lodge , No , 2196 , was no less than £ 407 iSs . 6 d ., and Bro . John Hooke ' s , as Steward for the East Surrey Lodge of Concord , No . 463 , amounted to £ 105 . Bro . Charles Belton , too , for the Royal Alfred , No . 777 , Guildford , gave in £ Sg 15 s . 6 d ., and even Bro . Chas . Greenwood , D . P . G . M ., in spite of
his illness and recent great bereavement , was able to present a list of between £ 43 and £ 44 . But we need not prolong our remarks . The figures tell a tale which has gratified every one , the Chairman , the members of the Board of Stewards severally and collectively , and the Craft throughout the country , and we can only hope that our future Festival Chairmen will be as loyally supported by their own people .
WARWICKSHIRE , When one of its most distinguished members—the Marquis of Hertford , then G . S . W . of England—presided at the Benevolent Festival in February , totalled up rather more than £ 230 , and on Wednesday it swelled its contributions for the year by a further £ 102 18 s ., the lodges who helped to raise this sum being Nos . 43 , 284 , and 739 , the first and third hailing from Birmingham , and the second from VVarwick . As about Christmas last there
was some talk of the Provincial Grand Master of Warwickshire taking the chair at the Boys' School , it is just possible that , though the talk came to nothing , many of our friends in the district may have resolved on giving the Boys' School the benefit of their services . We hope so , because the last time Warwickshire did anything worthy of its reputation was at the Girls ' Festival in 18 S 2 , when it figured in the returns for £ 810 . There have been 11 anniversaries since then , and its largest total at any one of them was the before mentioned £ 230 in February last .
WILTSHIRE made its first appearance this year on Wednesday , the representative of its 10 lodges , Bro . J . Campbell Maclean , being so fortunate as to raise a list of £ 200 us . Last year it concentrated its efforts on the Benevolent Institution , the sum contributed at the Festival of that Charity being upwards
of £ 185 , while in 1 SS 4 the same Institution was benefited to the extent of £ 157 , the Girls' School received over £ 85 , and the Boys' School a minor contribution of 10 guineas . In 18 S 3 , our Boys'had the larger share ( £ 135 ) and the Benevolent ( £ 50 . ) In 1 S 82 it subscribed over £ 300 , so that for a small province , it stands high both as a regular and a liberal contributor .
WORCESTERSHI RE . Made a very effective display tor the Benevolent Institution in February , when , with its P . G . M ., Bro . Sir E . A , H . Lechmere , Bart ., M . P ., to head the array of Stewards , it compiled the considerable tolal of £ 287 8 s . On Wednesday three of its most active members—Bros . A . F . Gordon , D . P , G . M ., Grosvenor , and Consterdine-Chadwick—made up amongst them the small but serviceable sum of £ 36 15 s . This raises its contributions for the
current year to over £ , 324 > that a heavy list will not be needed in order to place it on a level with the £ 39 6 which it distributed in 1885 . There is , indeed , a fair chance of its exceeding that amount , and even the £ 426 which represented its appropriations to our Charities in 1884 , Last year , YORKSHIRE ( NORTH AND EAST ) Raised a total of £ 535 , that is to say , £ 204 for the R . M . B . I ., £ 150 for the Girls ' , and £ 181 lor the Boys ' . In 1884 , its total was £ 559 , and in 1883 it reached £ 920 . During the present year it has raised £ 42 in February ,
Analysis Of The Returns.
and ^ 82 Wednesday , the former amount being from the Humber , Mo . 57 , and the latter from the Denison , No . 1248 , Scarborough , whose representative , Bro . Sir G . Sitwell , Bart ., M . P ., compiled £ 42 , and the Eboracum , No . 1611 , from which Bro . W . Brown raised £ 40 . There is thus an ample margin left for further subventions , in order to place the current year on a fair level with the three immediately preceding it .
YORKSHIRE ( WEST . ) sent up 29 Stewards , or more than any other of our Provinces , 15 out of its 6 9 lodges being represented , and the total of their contributions being £ 500 . This brings us within measurable distance of £ 1250 , the 22 Stewards who did duty on behalf of the Benevolent Institution in February having compiled £ 735 . In 18 S 5 the returns were—Benevolent Institution , £ 143 17 s . ; Girls'School , £ i 6 oS ; and Boys'School , £ 355 19 s . ; giving a total for the
year of £ 2107 16 s ., of which , however , £ 1050 was the Sir H . Edwards Presentation Fund lo the Girls ' . In 1884 the figures were—Benevolent , £ 352 5 s . ; Girls' School , £ 900 ; and Boys' School , £ 5 8 9 12 s . ; total for the three , £ 1841 17 s . ; and , in 1 SS 3 , the total was £ 2350 , of which £ 1500 was subscribed to the Boys' School . Thus at the last 11 Festivals , West Yorkshire has averaged £ 700 as its share of the general contributions , and if we carried our inquiries still further back , we should find the returns as conspicuously and as uniformly liberal .
THE CHANNEL ISLANDS . Have no provincial organisation ; but this does not prevent them from every now and then entering an appearance at the Festival of one or other of our Charities . Generally the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution has proved the attraction ; but on Wednesday Bro . F . Clarke , as Steward for Doyle's Lodge of Fellowship , No . S 4 , Guernsey , tendered a list of £ 63 , and not only is the sum credited in the returns we publish elsewhere , but we have much pleasure in drawing attention to its contribution in the course of these remarks .
CONCLUDING REMARKS . There is only one district which it is out of our power lo refer to—that of the Punjab , for one of whose lodges the Rev . Bro . Hildelesy gave his services as Steward . But the Punjab is a few thousand miles away , and , no doubt , the reason there is nothing to its credit is that Bro . Hildesley has not been able to remit the contributions of his brethren in time for announcement in our columns . It invariably happens , however , that when one of these remote
lodges is represented , it contributes generously . But with this and a few other exceptions , Bro . Hedges has succeeded in getting in his returns from all who consented to act on behalf of the School , and in this respect has been exceptionally fortunate . He has also been still more fortunate in the aggregate of these returns as compared with what was generally anticipated . . However , on this point we have already said enough , while , if there are any matters that have escaped us , which would seem to have called for some notice , we must claim , as always , the kind indulgence of our readers .
Consecration Of The Lodge Of Hope, No. 2153, At Gosport.
CONSECRATION OF THE LODGE OF HOPE , No . 2153 , AT GOSPORT .
A red-letter day in the annals of the Masonic history of Gosport wa 9 marked on Wednesday , the 12 th inst ,, when the constitution and consecration of the Lodge of Hope , No . 2153—a military lodge—took place , the ceremony being carried out in the Thorngate ( or Town ) Hall . The walls were tastefully decorated with bunting and the floor was laid with led cloth , and the whole arrangements were most ably carried out . Amongst those
present were—Bros , the W . W . B . Beach , M . P ., P . G . M . ,- Rev . J . N . Palmer , P . G . C . Eng ., P . P . G . C ., acting D . P . G . M . ; M . E . Frost , P . P . G . W ., acting P . G . S . W . ; J . B . Goldsmith , Rev . E . H . Ehlers , P . G . C . ; Capt . VV . H . E . St . Clair , P . G . Reg . ; E . Goble , P . G . Sec ; G . A . Mursell , P . G . S . D . ; W . Gunnel ] , P . G . S . of W . ; J . Gieve , P . D . G . D . C . ; J . G . Niven , P . G . Swd . Br . ; G . Cross , P . G . Std . Br . ; W . Dart , P . G . Purst . ; T . F . Wilton , P . P . G . Org ., acting P . G . Org .,- E . Nayler , J . Jackson , and F . Cooper , P . G .
Stwds . ; J . Wilmott , P . P . G . Swd . Br . ; J . Woodhouse , P . P . G . Swd . Br . ; W . G . P . Gilbert , S . W . 257 ,- J . W . Gieve , I . P . M ., and C . Smith , 309 ; ] . Roberts , 325 ; FSanders , W . M . ; W . Beuttells , S . W . ; and J . Bussey , 342 ; R . K . Clovcll , 35 S ; W . Stoddart , 407 ; H . Simes , 4 S 7 ; J . Maling , P . M . ; R . W . Mitchell , P . M . ; C . Larkins , Asst . Org . ; and G . W . Taylor , 903 ; J . Mitchell , J . W . ; G . F . Williams , Treas . ; J . G . Mason , P . M . ; J . Miles and S . Williams , 142 S ; W . Baylis , 1536 ; G . Darby , W . M . ; J . S . Senior , S . W . ; S . Smith , J . W . ; W . M . Chalcraft , Treas . ;
F . W . C . Waters and R . P . Briant , 1705 ; W . Miles , I . P . M . ; J . Bryant , I . G . ; F . G . Welton , and J . Bryant , 1776 ; Lieut . J . Knowles , R . N ., W . M . ; R . S . P . Griffiths , and Lieut . Aplin , 1903 ; J . Palmer , W . M . ; P . H . Emanuel , J . W . ; E . G . Adams , P . M . ; Q . Cecconi , ; J . D . ; J . Coote , J . Prior , W . Porter , and G . Skeens , 206 S ; and the petitioners for the lodge—Bros . Major W . T . Miller , P . P . G . S . D . ; G . F . Lancaster , P . P . G . J . D . ; J . Wilson , P . P . G . Swd . Br . ; R . W . Downing , P . P . G . Std . Br . ; F .
Powell , VV . M . designate , P . P . G . Purst . ; Wm . Green , P . M ., S . W . designate ; T . Stretton , J . W . designate ; Rev . R . Measham , H . Crisp , W . J . Pawsey , T . Pearson , E . S . Innes , J . G . Williams , D . C ; T . W . Holdstock , I . G . ; D . Batson , Org . ; E . Jewell , C . H . Buck , T . Nicholls , T . Bailey , A . Harding , J . Smith , R . G . King , G . Turner , T . Adams , G . W . Burnett , J . J . Bate , A . T . White , J . Brams , W . Cotton , J . Hicken , and G . Dunbar .
The lodge having been opened , the brethren saluted the P . G . M . in due form . Bro . J . N . PALMER , Grand Chaplain , acting D . P . G . M ., said that it needed but very few words from him as to why they had assembled there that day , and they were all right glad to see Masonry extended , as was evinced by such a large attendance to witness the constitution aud consecration of the Lodge of Hope , and he asked the P . G . M ., to accede to the prayer of the petitioners for the new lodge .
Bro . VV . W . B . BEACH , P . G . M ., said that the application for a new lodge from the brethren was an indication of a desire to promulgate the benefits of Freemasonry . There would , it was perfectly true , be little cause for congratulation were there any doubt as to the success of the lodge in the future , or as to the sincere wish of the brethren who were joining to promote it . That , he liusted , they might dismiss from their minds . No doubt the brethren of Gosport , emulating their brethren in Portsmouth , who had such
a number of lodges , were desirous of extending their lodges , which was not surprising , considering the growth that Gosport was making . That being the case , and a number of brethren having signified their wish to join in promoting a new lodge , he had every desire to assist them by all means in his power , and therefore he had come there that day , it being one that he thought would probably be convenient to them , and on which he could be
spared from the House of Commons , though the business on most days was rather of an entrancing nature . What was the work on which they were engaged ? Was theirs a Society based , on the principles of yesterday V No , it was a Society based on principles which had existed for thousands of years . It was curious that almost from day to day things were brought to light which showed that Freemasonry must have existed even for a longer time than they had an idea of . They had remains of buildings brought to
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Analysis Of The Returns.
SOUTH WALES ( EAST DIVISION ) , has done fairly well , Bro . VV . C . Peace as representative of the province , having compiled a list of £ 140 . But its 16 lodges raised £ 400 last year , £ 200 for each School , and £ 360 in 1 SS 4 , namely , £ 160 for the Girls' and £ 200 for the Boys' . However , the decrease is one that must be looked for from time to time . We pass on to the country of the Potteries , and we find that
STAFFORDSHIRE , As usual , is well represented , Bros . Vernon and the Rev . W . Randall sharing between them the representation of the Province , and figuring for a combined list of £ 204 15 s . Its one Steward in February—Bro . W . H . Bailey—handed in a total of over £ 204 , so that there is good reason lo hope the Province , which musters 27 lodges , will show to as great
advantage as in 1 SS 5 and 18 S 4 , when it distributed £ 697 and £ 646 respectively among our three Institutions . We must not omit to mention that a very large proportion of the money raised for Wednesday is derived from that excellent local organisation , the Staffordshire Masonic Charitable Association , which , though of comparatively recent establishment , is doing some splendid work . In our remarks on the contribution of
SUFFOLK To the Benevolent Institution in February last we hinted at the pleasure the late Lord Waveney would have experienced had he been spared to hear of the handsome total then raised by the Province with which he had so long and so intimately been associated . The total was in excess of £ 300—the exact sum being £ 305 ios . —and on Wednesday a further amount of £ 137 os . ' 6 d ., of which £ 126 10 s . 6 d . was on the list of Bro . Phillips , as Steward for the whole
Province , came in conveniently lo swell the returns to the Girls School . There are 21 lodges on the roll ; but the county is chiefly an agricultural one , and we all know that agriculture has been the reverse of prosperous for some time past , so that Suffolk is entitled to an amount of kudos even beyond what the aggregate of its subscriptions would justify , the total for the last eight Festivals , including that of Wednesday being about £ 1800 . Our next stage brings us to the Chairman's Province of
SURREY , Which has summarily disposed of the misgivings that were fell as to its ability—there were never any as to its goodwill—to repeat the success of 1883 , when General Brownrigg was Chairman at the Benevolent Festival , by compiling the grand total of £ 1328 195 . 6 d ., and thus securing to itself the premier place among the Provincial contributions . We must plead guilty
lo having shared in those misgivings , which , as will have been gathered from our remarks of last week , we based on a conjunction of unfortunale circumstances that might be deplored , but could not be controlled , and the best , indeed , the only atonement we can make to the Province is to congratulate it on a success , which , as it has been achieved in the face of so many difficulties , is , on that very account , so much the more honourable . We now give no
further thought to absent lodges , which , as the Provincial Grand Lodge voted 100 guineas out of its funds , were not absent in reality , when we look at this total , which surpasses anything that Surrey has done previously , and will compare most favourably with what has been done by the Provinces of other Chairmen , under conditions far more auspicious . As to the composition of the £ 1328 odd , we have noted already that Provincial Grand Lodge figures
for £ 105 , the Chairman s list , including his own personal donation , is , in round figures , £ 193 , while that of Bro . Joseph D . Langton , for the George Price Lodge , No , 2196 , was no less than £ 407 iSs . 6 d ., and Bro . John Hooke ' s , as Steward for the East Surrey Lodge of Concord , No . 463 , amounted to £ 105 . Bro . Charles Belton , too , for the Royal Alfred , No . 777 , Guildford , gave in £ Sg 15 s . 6 d ., and even Bro . Chas . Greenwood , D . P . G . M ., in spite of
his illness and recent great bereavement , was able to present a list of between £ 43 and £ 44 . But we need not prolong our remarks . The figures tell a tale which has gratified every one , the Chairman , the members of the Board of Stewards severally and collectively , and the Craft throughout the country , and we can only hope that our future Festival Chairmen will be as loyally supported by their own people .
WARWICKSHIRE , When one of its most distinguished members—the Marquis of Hertford , then G . S . W . of England—presided at the Benevolent Festival in February , totalled up rather more than £ 230 , and on Wednesday it swelled its contributions for the year by a further £ 102 18 s ., the lodges who helped to raise this sum being Nos . 43 , 284 , and 739 , the first and third hailing from Birmingham , and the second from VVarwick . As about Christmas last there
was some talk of the Provincial Grand Master of Warwickshire taking the chair at the Boys' School , it is just possible that , though the talk came to nothing , many of our friends in the district may have resolved on giving the Boys' School the benefit of their services . We hope so , because the last time Warwickshire did anything worthy of its reputation was at the Girls ' Festival in 18 S 2 , when it figured in the returns for £ 810 . There have been 11 anniversaries since then , and its largest total at any one of them was the before mentioned £ 230 in February last .
WILTSHIRE made its first appearance this year on Wednesday , the representative of its 10 lodges , Bro . J . Campbell Maclean , being so fortunate as to raise a list of £ 200 us . Last year it concentrated its efforts on the Benevolent Institution , the sum contributed at the Festival of that Charity being upwards
of £ 185 , while in 1 SS 4 the same Institution was benefited to the extent of £ 157 , the Girls' School received over £ 85 , and the Boys' School a minor contribution of 10 guineas . In 18 S 3 , our Boys'had the larger share ( £ 135 ) and the Benevolent ( £ 50 . ) In 1 S 82 it subscribed over £ 300 , so that for a small province , it stands high both as a regular and a liberal contributor .
WORCESTERSHI RE . Made a very effective display tor the Benevolent Institution in February , when , with its P . G . M ., Bro . Sir E . A , H . Lechmere , Bart ., M . P ., to head the array of Stewards , it compiled the considerable tolal of £ 287 8 s . On Wednesday three of its most active members—Bros . A . F . Gordon , D . P , G . M ., Grosvenor , and Consterdine-Chadwick—made up amongst them the small but serviceable sum of £ 36 15 s . This raises its contributions for the
current year to over £ , 324 > that a heavy list will not be needed in order to place it on a level with the £ 39 6 which it distributed in 1885 . There is , indeed , a fair chance of its exceeding that amount , and even the £ 426 which represented its appropriations to our Charities in 1884 , Last year , YORKSHIRE ( NORTH AND EAST ) Raised a total of £ 535 , that is to say , £ 204 for the R . M . B . I ., £ 150 for the Girls ' , and £ 181 lor the Boys ' . In 1884 , its total was £ 559 , and in 1883 it reached £ 920 . During the present year it has raised £ 42 in February ,
Analysis Of The Returns.
and ^ 82 Wednesday , the former amount being from the Humber , Mo . 57 , and the latter from the Denison , No . 1248 , Scarborough , whose representative , Bro . Sir G . Sitwell , Bart ., M . P ., compiled £ 42 , and the Eboracum , No . 1611 , from which Bro . W . Brown raised £ 40 . There is thus an ample margin left for further subventions , in order to place the current year on a fair level with the three immediately preceding it .
YORKSHIRE ( WEST . ) sent up 29 Stewards , or more than any other of our Provinces , 15 out of its 6 9 lodges being represented , and the total of their contributions being £ 500 . This brings us within measurable distance of £ 1250 , the 22 Stewards who did duty on behalf of the Benevolent Institution in February having compiled £ 735 . In 18 S 5 the returns were—Benevolent Institution , £ 143 17 s . ; Girls'School , £ i 6 oS ; and Boys'School , £ 355 19 s . ; giving a total for the
year of £ 2107 16 s ., of which , however , £ 1050 was the Sir H . Edwards Presentation Fund lo the Girls ' . In 1884 the figures were—Benevolent , £ 352 5 s . ; Girls' School , £ 900 ; and Boys' School , £ 5 8 9 12 s . ; total for the three , £ 1841 17 s . ; and , in 1 SS 3 , the total was £ 2350 , of which £ 1500 was subscribed to the Boys' School . Thus at the last 11 Festivals , West Yorkshire has averaged £ 700 as its share of the general contributions , and if we carried our inquiries still further back , we should find the returns as conspicuously and as uniformly liberal .
THE CHANNEL ISLANDS . Have no provincial organisation ; but this does not prevent them from every now and then entering an appearance at the Festival of one or other of our Charities . Generally the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution has proved the attraction ; but on Wednesday Bro . F . Clarke , as Steward for Doyle's Lodge of Fellowship , No . S 4 , Guernsey , tendered a list of £ 63 , and not only is the sum credited in the returns we publish elsewhere , but we have much pleasure in drawing attention to its contribution in the course of these remarks .
CONCLUDING REMARKS . There is only one district which it is out of our power lo refer to—that of the Punjab , for one of whose lodges the Rev . Bro . Hildelesy gave his services as Steward . But the Punjab is a few thousand miles away , and , no doubt , the reason there is nothing to its credit is that Bro . Hildesley has not been able to remit the contributions of his brethren in time for announcement in our columns . It invariably happens , however , that when one of these remote
lodges is represented , it contributes generously . But with this and a few other exceptions , Bro . Hedges has succeeded in getting in his returns from all who consented to act on behalf of the School , and in this respect has been exceptionally fortunate . He has also been still more fortunate in the aggregate of these returns as compared with what was generally anticipated . . However , on this point we have already said enough , while , if there are any matters that have escaped us , which would seem to have called for some notice , we must claim , as always , the kind indulgence of our readers .
Consecration Of The Lodge Of Hope, No. 2153, At Gosport.
CONSECRATION OF THE LODGE OF HOPE , No . 2153 , AT GOSPORT .
A red-letter day in the annals of the Masonic history of Gosport wa 9 marked on Wednesday , the 12 th inst ,, when the constitution and consecration of the Lodge of Hope , No . 2153—a military lodge—took place , the ceremony being carried out in the Thorngate ( or Town ) Hall . The walls were tastefully decorated with bunting and the floor was laid with led cloth , and the whole arrangements were most ably carried out . Amongst those
present were—Bros , the W . W . B . Beach , M . P ., P . G . M . ,- Rev . J . N . Palmer , P . G . C . Eng ., P . P . G . C ., acting D . P . G . M . ; M . E . Frost , P . P . G . W ., acting P . G . S . W . ; J . B . Goldsmith , Rev . E . H . Ehlers , P . G . C . ; Capt . VV . H . E . St . Clair , P . G . Reg . ; E . Goble , P . G . Sec ; G . A . Mursell , P . G . S . D . ; W . Gunnel ] , P . G . S . of W . ; J . Gieve , P . D . G . D . C . ; J . G . Niven , P . G . Swd . Br . ; G . Cross , P . G . Std . Br . ; W . Dart , P . G . Purst . ; T . F . Wilton , P . P . G . Org ., acting P . G . Org .,- E . Nayler , J . Jackson , and F . Cooper , P . G .
Stwds . ; J . Wilmott , P . P . G . Swd . Br . ; J . Woodhouse , P . P . G . Swd . Br . ; W . G . P . Gilbert , S . W . 257 ,- J . W . Gieve , I . P . M ., and C . Smith , 309 ; ] . Roberts , 325 ; FSanders , W . M . ; W . Beuttells , S . W . ; and J . Bussey , 342 ; R . K . Clovcll , 35 S ; W . Stoddart , 407 ; H . Simes , 4 S 7 ; J . Maling , P . M . ; R . W . Mitchell , P . M . ; C . Larkins , Asst . Org . ; and G . W . Taylor , 903 ; J . Mitchell , J . W . ; G . F . Williams , Treas . ; J . G . Mason , P . M . ; J . Miles and S . Williams , 142 S ; W . Baylis , 1536 ; G . Darby , W . M . ; J . S . Senior , S . W . ; S . Smith , J . W . ; W . M . Chalcraft , Treas . ;
F . W . C . Waters and R . P . Briant , 1705 ; W . Miles , I . P . M . ; J . Bryant , I . G . ; F . G . Welton , and J . Bryant , 1776 ; Lieut . J . Knowles , R . N ., W . M . ; R . S . P . Griffiths , and Lieut . Aplin , 1903 ; J . Palmer , W . M . ; P . H . Emanuel , J . W . ; E . G . Adams , P . M . ; Q . Cecconi , ; J . D . ; J . Coote , J . Prior , W . Porter , and G . Skeens , 206 S ; and the petitioners for the lodge—Bros . Major W . T . Miller , P . P . G . S . D . ; G . F . Lancaster , P . P . G . J . D . ; J . Wilson , P . P . G . Swd . Br . ; R . W . Downing , P . P . G . Std . Br . ; F .
Powell , VV . M . designate , P . P . G . Purst . ; Wm . Green , P . M ., S . W . designate ; T . Stretton , J . W . designate ; Rev . R . Measham , H . Crisp , W . J . Pawsey , T . Pearson , E . S . Innes , J . G . Williams , D . C ; T . W . Holdstock , I . G . ; D . Batson , Org . ; E . Jewell , C . H . Buck , T . Nicholls , T . Bailey , A . Harding , J . Smith , R . G . King , G . Turner , T . Adams , G . W . Burnett , J . J . Bate , A . T . White , J . Brams , W . Cotton , J . Hicken , and G . Dunbar .
The lodge having been opened , the brethren saluted the P . G . M . in due form . Bro . J . N . PALMER , Grand Chaplain , acting D . P . G . M ., said that it needed but very few words from him as to why they had assembled there that day , and they were all right glad to see Masonry extended , as was evinced by such a large attendance to witness the constitution aud consecration of the Lodge of Hope , and he asked the P . G . M ., to accede to the prayer of the petitioners for the new lodge .
Bro . VV . W . B . BEACH , P . G . M ., said that the application for a new lodge from the brethren was an indication of a desire to promulgate the benefits of Freemasonry . There would , it was perfectly true , be little cause for congratulation were there any doubt as to the success of the lodge in the future , or as to the sincere wish of the brethren who were joining to promote it . That , he liusted , they might dismiss from their minds . No doubt the brethren of Gosport , emulating their brethren in Portsmouth , who had such
a number of lodges , were desirous of extending their lodges , which was not surprising , considering the growth that Gosport was making . That being the case , and a number of brethren having signified their wish to join in promoting a new lodge , he had every desire to assist them by all means in his power , and therefore he had come there that day , it being one that he thought would probably be convenient to them , and on which he could be
spared from the House of Commons , though the business on most days was rather of an entrancing nature . What was the work on which they were engaged ? Was theirs a Society based , on the principles of yesterday V No , it was a Society based on principles which had existed for thousands of years . It was curious that almost from day to day things were brought to light which showed that Freemasonry must have existed even for a longer time than they had an idea of . They had remains of buildings brought to