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Article LORD WOLSELEY AT MANCHESTER. ← Page 2 of 2 Article LORD WOLSELEY AT MANCHESTER. Page 2 of 2
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Lord Wolseley At Manchester.
A large number of brethren proceeded to the Free Trade Hall , where a well served banquet was awaiting them and to which ample justice was done . The W . M . presided , and was supported on the right by the R . W . P . G . M ., and on the left by Bro . Lord Wolseley . The appearance of a number of ladies in the gallery presented a novel and pleasing spectacle ,
and at a later period of the evening they were invited by the W . M . to come down and join the brethren ; a proceeding which gave the greatest satisfaction to everyone . After the toasts of " The Queen , " " The Prince of Wales , Grand Master , " and " The Earl of Carnarvon , Pro Grand Master , " had been honoured .
Bro . S . D . MCKELLEN proposed "The Rt . Hon . the Earl of Lathom , Deputy Grand Master of England , and the rest of the Grand Officers , " Bro . CLEMENT R . BESWICKE-ROYDS , G . S . D ., replied . The WORSHIPFUL MASTER next proposed the toast of "The R . W . P . G . M . of East Lancashire , Bro . Col . Le Gendre N . Starkie , " who he said had permitted himself to be nominated a member of that lodge .
The PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTER in responding said he hoped the new lodge which had just entered their society , and which had commenced its career under such brilliant auspices would add lustre to the Order . Though it had one peculiar element in it which was novel to the numerous lodges of the province , let them hope that that element would bring others to the same way of thinking . While they professed that temperance was one of the
great characteristics of Freemasonry it might now be said to be allied with conviviality and good fellowship , and was likely to strengthen the bonds and enhance the benefits of Masonry among all classes of society . ( Applause ) . Bro . J . ILIFF , Treas ., proposed "The Deputy Provincial Grand Master of East Lancashire , Bro . G . Mellor , and the rest of the Provincial Grand Officers . "
Bro . MELLOR replied . Bro . Lord WOLSELEY said it was with great diffidence that he presumed to lay the next toast before them , because it seemed almost like proposing his own health , the toast being " Prosperity to the Lodge which they had done him the honour to name after him . He was told that it was the second
lodge that had been established in Great Britain on purely temperance principles , and it must he thought commend itself not only to every good Mason but to every lover of his country . The Worshipful Master told him that already seventy members had joined it , and he felt convinced , after what had been said of it that day by the Provincial Grand Master , that it would not be long before the number of members reached too . Everyone who knew what had taken place at the inauguration , and who had an interest in the lodge on account of its temperance principles , must feel how deep a debt of gratitude was owing to the Worshipful Master and the other officers of the lodge who had taken so much trouble in establishing it . He could not lay claim to being a very good Mason , but he was a very old one . He was initiated before he was 21 years of age , immediately before his
regiment started for the Crimea . He remembered consulting several of his brother officers as to the propriety of becoming a Mason , and they tried to induce him not to join , remarking that it was " great nonsense , " and simply meant going through a sort of fantastic performance , and afterwards sitting up very late _ at night eating indigestible suppers , and drinking too much wine .
( Laughter . ) It was thought that Masonry and revelry were synonymous terms . If it was for no higher motive than putting an end to that accusation —an accusation which was still held by many who did not understand Masonic principles—he could rejoice at the formation of that lodge . But there was a higher object to be gained and to be aimed at . He could not help thinking that every step made on the road towards temperance was a
greater reform , both morally and materially , that the extension of the franchise or any of those ideas which found so much favour in the country . He believed that the formation of a lodge on the basis of temperance was more likely to be of use than any other reform which they could possibly think of . He was no politician , but he had heard it said that the franchise given to
the crossing sweeper would raise his moral tone . He could not express an opinion on that subject , but he was quite certain that the spread of temperance habits amongst the people was of far greater consequence than ever the spread of voting papers amongst them could be . It was for those reasons that he thought that lodge would commend itself to the public . — ( Applause . )
The WORSHIPFUL MASTER in responding said that it must never be understood that the Wolseley Lodge was orig inated as a protest against the intemperance said to be practised by Freemasons . Freemasons invariably were taught that one of their fundamental principles was temperance . As the first Master of the lodge , he had to say that it was only formed with the idea of embracing within its fold those good men and true who would not
come into Freemasonry without a lodge of that sort , and not as a protest against lodges that already existed in this city . Although it was to be a temperance lodge , he need hardly say that every Mason would be admitted and welcomed within it . Started under such auspices , and founded upon such principles , the Wolseley Lodge would and must have the approbation of the Great Architect of the Universe .
Bro . P . BARKER proposed " The Health of the Worshipful Master , " which was briefly responded to . Bro . the Rev . H . ANTHONY NOEL proposed the toast of "The Visitors , " to which Bros . BOARD and THOMASSON , of the Birmingham Lodge of Temperance , responded .
At this stage of the proceedings Bro . Lord Wolseley amid applause pinned upon the breasts of the Worshipiul Master and the six other founders of the Wolseley Lodge a jewel commemorative of the occasion . Bro . HUNT , S . W ., proposed the toast of "The Army and Navy , " referring in particular to the services rendered to the country by Bro . Lord Wolseley and the forces under his command in Egypt . Bro Lord WOLSELEY , who was received with cheers , said he felt almost
ashamed as it were of being thus singled out for praise when in his heart he felt and knew that it was only in common with thousands of others of his comrades who took part in the late war that he could have any claim to their gratitude . It was very common in a campaign to talk of a general as if he was a man who really had fought the enemy by himself , and to whom all praise was due . If they would think of it they would agree with him that
no matter who might be the general—be he Napoleon or be he Wellington - —no man could do much in the field in commanding a large army unless he was most ably supported by a highly educated , able , and efficient staff ; and lastly and chiefly , unless he had behind him a noble band of soldiers in whom he had most complete and explicit trust , and who also relied upon and put faith in him . ( Cheers . ) During the campaign that was brought to
Lord Wolseley At Manchester.
an end at the close of last year he was most ably seconded . No man could have around him a more highly educated or a more efficient body ot officers than he was authorised to take out with him to Egypt . He was allowed to select his staff ; and he thought that those who went with him would be remembered — even supposing that they had no further opportunities of distinguishing themselvesfor the able
— manner in which they discharged their duties in that war . 1 he iact that our soldiers did their work well was evidenced by the manner in which their commander was received that day . He had not the advantage of being a sailor as well as a soldier , and therefore in his allusion to the navy he could not enter into any technical work in connection with the share in the campaign which fell to the lot of the navybut this he might that
, say during his career he had had many opportunities of taking part in wars where the army and navy were intimately associated , and he could remember no previous occasion when the army and navy worked more cordially hand in hand , both striving to do their utmost , and having one common end in view—the interests of their country and the honour of the sovereign whom they served . A great part of the cordiality which subsisted was to be
attributed to the fact that our navy was commanded not only by one of the ablest sailors who had ever been afloat but by one of the best and most genial of companions . It had often struck him as being very peculiar how in the centre of a commercial city like Manchester , devoted to manufactures , it came about that this toast was always so well received ; and the exlanation not difficult
p was to find , for he was sure that every right-thinking man who was not carried away by some delusive theories must admit that in order that trade and commerce might flourish it was absolutely necessary that there should be a state of profound peace , and he could not help thinking that such a condition of profound peace could only be secured to the nation that was prepared to make sufficient sacrifice in order to maintain an
efficient army and navy , and to keep them always ready and efficient for war . ( Applause . ) He believed that a nation which allowed its military spirit and its military and naval institutions to die out was in great danger . Not only was it unable in that case to take part in the management of the affairs of the world , but its liberties were in danger unless it was able to protect its commerce abroad and to defend its shores at home . He was sorry to say that there still seemed to
be in the minds of some people in England a considerable prejudice against soldiers at least . That prejudice might have come down from a time when the army was very differently constituted from the manner in which it was formed now . In the times to which he referred a man who became a soldier enlisted for all his lifetime , or at least for twenty one years . He cut himselt adrift from his famil
y and his associations , and was looked upon as a son lost to his parents for ever , for he spent the greater portion of his time in foreign service , very often in unhealthy climates , to which he frequently succumbed . That , he was glad to say , was no longer the case . Our soldiers now enlisted for a very short time . They joined the army lor periods of three , five , and seven years , at the expiration of which time they returned to civil life and went into the army reserve , there to be
ready lor another five or six years in the improbable event of war . During the time they were in the army they were taught what was most necessary to make them when they returned to civil life not only loyal citizens , but peaceloving and peaceable members of society . ( Hear , hear . ) After the education and line he had
discip gone through during his five and six years in the army , the soldier was the man who on his return to civil life ought of all others to be sought after by employers of labour . They would pardon him if he spoke in affectionate terms of the soldiers , for he had spent the whole of his life amongst them . He had seen them under the most difficult
circumstances . He had campaigned with them shoulder to shoulder , living on the same fare and exposed to the same hardships , and he had seen them exposed to trials and hardships the most crucial that men could be exposed to , yet they had submitted to all these hardships and trials in the most uncomplaining manner , knowing that they meant the peace , honour , and safety of the country which they loved better than their own comfort , and their own lives . —( Applause ) . Anyone who had
loilowed the campaign which had recentl y been concluded would readily admit that the soldiers who took part m it were worthy of the reception they had met with from their fellow citizens since their return home . Previous to that war it was a very common thing to see the British soldier decried . It was a very common thing to read in the newspapers that he had fallen off , and that he was not the same man that his predecessor was . As to that
accusation he would point to the way in which the soldiers had carried out their duties in E gypt amidst the greatest trials of heat , and hunger , and thirst —( applause)—and of all the troops that took part in the campaign there were no two finer battalions than the two battalions belonging to the Manchester Regiment . —( Applause ) . When the war was brought to a conclusion one of those battalions went out to India , and the other at the
present moment constituted the garrison of Her Majesty ' s Tower of London , which of itself was a distinction . It made his blood boil sometimes when he heard our soldiers accused of ill-conduct , because he knew that these accusations were not correct . During the war to which he had so many times referred our men behaved in the most excellent manner from the beginning of the campaign to the end of itand disciline strictl
, yet p was y maintained ; and all those results were achieved without any recourse being had to the lash . ( Applause . ) Thank God flogging in the army was now as much a thing of the past as hanging was for sheep stealing , and henceforth discipline in the face of the enemy would have to be maintained by appealing to the patriotism , the good feeling , the love of duty , and the love of country of our men , unbrutahsed by the cat-o ' nine-tails . It was but natural that he should be grateful to those who had hi
spoken so ghly of the soldiers with whom he had recently served and with whom he had ever been associated . It was to the soldiers that he felt they owed all the honours that had been heaped upon him by a gracious Sovereign and a generous people since his return home —( applause ) —and amongst all those honours to which he had referred—and they were many—there were none that he prized more highly , there were none that he s hould remember as long as he lived with more pleasure and pride than the honour they had done him that evening . ( Alause . )
pp The remaining toasts included "The Masonic Charities ; " "The Newly-Invested Officers ; " " The Ladies ; " and " Poor and Distressed Masons .
A programme of vocal music was excellently rendered by Miss Spary ( Clifton ) , Bros . G . Barton and Joseph Cantor ( Liverpool ) , and Mr . Eaton Barry . Bro . T . Campbell , Organist of the lodge , officiated as musical director . Bro . Dr . Allison played a grand march , composed by him for the occasion , entitled the " Wolseley March . "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Lord Wolseley At Manchester.
A large number of brethren proceeded to the Free Trade Hall , where a well served banquet was awaiting them and to which ample justice was done . The W . M . presided , and was supported on the right by the R . W . P . G . M ., and on the left by Bro . Lord Wolseley . The appearance of a number of ladies in the gallery presented a novel and pleasing spectacle ,
and at a later period of the evening they were invited by the W . M . to come down and join the brethren ; a proceeding which gave the greatest satisfaction to everyone . After the toasts of " The Queen , " " The Prince of Wales , Grand Master , " and " The Earl of Carnarvon , Pro Grand Master , " had been honoured .
Bro . S . D . MCKELLEN proposed "The Rt . Hon . the Earl of Lathom , Deputy Grand Master of England , and the rest of the Grand Officers , " Bro . CLEMENT R . BESWICKE-ROYDS , G . S . D ., replied . The WORSHIPFUL MASTER next proposed the toast of "The R . W . P . G . M . of East Lancashire , Bro . Col . Le Gendre N . Starkie , " who he said had permitted himself to be nominated a member of that lodge .
The PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTER in responding said he hoped the new lodge which had just entered their society , and which had commenced its career under such brilliant auspices would add lustre to the Order . Though it had one peculiar element in it which was novel to the numerous lodges of the province , let them hope that that element would bring others to the same way of thinking . While they professed that temperance was one of the
great characteristics of Freemasonry it might now be said to be allied with conviviality and good fellowship , and was likely to strengthen the bonds and enhance the benefits of Masonry among all classes of society . ( Applause ) . Bro . J . ILIFF , Treas ., proposed "The Deputy Provincial Grand Master of East Lancashire , Bro . G . Mellor , and the rest of the Provincial Grand Officers . "
Bro . MELLOR replied . Bro . Lord WOLSELEY said it was with great diffidence that he presumed to lay the next toast before them , because it seemed almost like proposing his own health , the toast being " Prosperity to the Lodge which they had done him the honour to name after him . He was told that it was the second
lodge that had been established in Great Britain on purely temperance principles , and it must he thought commend itself not only to every good Mason but to every lover of his country . The Worshipful Master told him that already seventy members had joined it , and he felt convinced , after what had been said of it that day by the Provincial Grand Master , that it would not be long before the number of members reached too . Everyone who knew what had taken place at the inauguration , and who had an interest in the lodge on account of its temperance principles , must feel how deep a debt of gratitude was owing to the Worshipful Master and the other officers of the lodge who had taken so much trouble in establishing it . He could not lay claim to being a very good Mason , but he was a very old one . He was initiated before he was 21 years of age , immediately before his
regiment started for the Crimea . He remembered consulting several of his brother officers as to the propriety of becoming a Mason , and they tried to induce him not to join , remarking that it was " great nonsense , " and simply meant going through a sort of fantastic performance , and afterwards sitting up very late _ at night eating indigestible suppers , and drinking too much wine .
( Laughter . ) It was thought that Masonry and revelry were synonymous terms . If it was for no higher motive than putting an end to that accusation —an accusation which was still held by many who did not understand Masonic principles—he could rejoice at the formation of that lodge . But there was a higher object to be gained and to be aimed at . He could not help thinking that every step made on the road towards temperance was a
greater reform , both morally and materially , that the extension of the franchise or any of those ideas which found so much favour in the country . He believed that the formation of a lodge on the basis of temperance was more likely to be of use than any other reform which they could possibly think of . He was no politician , but he had heard it said that the franchise given to
the crossing sweeper would raise his moral tone . He could not express an opinion on that subject , but he was quite certain that the spread of temperance habits amongst the people was of far greater consequence than ever the spread of voting papers amongst them could be . It was for those reasons that he thought that lodge would commend itself to the public . — ( Applause . )
The WORSHIPFUL MASTER in responding said that it must never be understood that the Wolseley Lodge was orig inated as a protest against the intemperance said to be practised by Freemasons . Freemasons invariably were taught that one of their fundamental principles was temperance . As the first Master of the lodge , he had to say that it was only formed with the idea of embracing within its fold those good men and true who would not
come into Freemasonry without a lodge of that sort , and not as a protest against lodges that already existed in this city . Although it was to be a temperance lodge , he need hardly say that every Mason would be admitted and welcomed within it . Started under such auspices , and founded upon such principles , the Wolseley Lodge would and must have the approbation of the Great Architect of the Universe .
Bro . P . BARKER proposed " The Health of the Worshipful Master , " which was briefly responded to . Bro . the Rev . H . ANTHONY NOEL proposed the toast of "The Visitors , " to which Bros . BOARD and THOMASSON , of the Birmingham Lodge of Temperance , responded .
At this stage of the proceedings Bro . Lord Wolseley amid applause pinned upon the breasts of the Worshipiul Master and the six other founders of the Wolseley Lodge a jewel commemorative of the occasion . Bro . HUNT , S . W ., proposed the toast of "The Army and Navy , " referring in particular to the services rendered to the country by Bro . Lord Wolseley and the forces under his command in Egypt . Bro Lord WOLSELEY , who was received with cheers , said he felt almost
ashamed as it were of being thus singled out for praise when in his heart he felt and knew that it was only in common with thousands of others of his comrades who took part in the late war that he could have any claim to their gratitude . It was very common in a campaign to talk of a general as if he was a man who really had fought the enemy by himself , and to whom all praise was due . If they would think of it they would agree with him that
no matter who might be the general—be he Napoleon or be he Wellington - —no man could do much in the field in commanding a large army unless he was most ably supported by a highly educated , able , and efficient staff ; and lastly and chiefly , unless he had behind him a noble band of soldiers in whom he had most complete and explicit trust , and who also relied upon and put faith in him . ( Cheers . ) During the campaign that was brought to
Lord Wolseley At Manchester.
an end at the close of last year he was most ably seconded . No man could have around him a more highly educated or a more efficient body ot officers than he was authorised to take out with him to Egypt . He was allowed to select his staff ; and he thought that those who went with him would be remembered — even supposing that they had no further opportunities of distinguishing themselvesfor the able
— manner in which they discharged their duties in that war . 1 he iact that our soldiers did their work well was evidenced by the manner in which their commander was received that day . He had not the advantage of being a sailor as well as a soldier , and therefore in his allusion to the navy he could not enter into any technical work in connection with the share in the campaign which fell to the lot of the navybut this he might that
, say during his career he had had many opportunities of taking part in wars where the army and navy were intimately associated , and he could remember no previous occasion when the army and navy worked more cordially hand in hand , both striving to do their utmost , and having one common end in view—the interests of their country and the honour of the sovereign whom they served . A great part of the cordiality which subsisted was to be
attributed to the fact that our navy was commanded not only by one of the ablest sailors who had ever been afloat but by one of the best and most genial of companions . It had often struck him as being very peculiar how in the centre of a commercial city like Manchester , devoted to manufactures , it came about that this toast was always so well received ; and the exlanation not difficult
p was to find , for he was sure that every right-thinking man who was not carried away by some delusive theories must admit that in order that trade and commerce might flourish it was absolutely necessary that there should be a state of profound peace , and he could not help thinking that such a condition of profound peace could only be secured to the nation that was prepared to make sufficient sacrifice in order to maintain an
efficient army and navy , and to keep them always ready and efficient for war . ( Applause . ) He believed that a nation which allowed its military spirit and its military and naval institutions to die out was in great danger . Not only was it unable in that case to take part in the management of the affairs of the world , but its liberties were in danger unless it was able to protect its commerce abroad and to defend its shores at home . He was sorry to say that there still seemed to
be in the minds of some people in England a considerable prejudice against soldiers at least . That prejudice might have come down from a time when the army was very differently constituted from the manner in which it was formed now . In the times to which he referred a man who became a soldier enlisted for all his lifetime , or at least for twenty one years . He cut himselt adrift from his famil
y and his associations , and was looked upon as a son lost to his parents for ever , for he spent the greater portion of his time in foreign service , very often in unhealthy climates , to which he frequently succumbed . That , he was glad to say , was no longer the case . Our soldiers now enlisted for a very short time . They joined the army lor periods of three , five , and seven years , at the expiration of which time they returned to civil life and went into the army reserve , there to be
ready lor another five or six years in the improbable event of war . During the time they were in the army they were taught what was most necessary to make them when they returned to civil life not only loyal citizens , but peaceloving and peaceable members of society . ( Hear , hear . ) After the education and line he had
discip gone through during his five and six years in the army , the soldier was the man who on his return to civil life ought of all others to be sought after by employers of labour . They would pardon him if he spoke in affectionate terms of the soldiers , for he had spent the whole of his life amongst them . He had seen them under the most difficult
circumstances . He had campaigned with them shoulder to shoulder , living on the same fare and exposed to the same hardships , and he had seen them exposed to trials and hardships the most crucial that men could be exposed to , yet they had submitted to all these hardships and trials in the most uncomplaining manner , knowing that they meant the peace , honour , and safety of the country which they loved better than their own comfort , and their own lives . —( Applause ) . Anyone who had
loilowed the campaign which had recentl y been concluded would readily admit that the soldiers who took part m it were worthy of the reception they had met with from their fellow citizens since their return home . Previous to that war it was a very common thing to see the British soldier decried . It was a very common thing to read in the newspapers that he had fallen off , and that he was not the same man that his predecessor was . As to that
accusation he would point to the way in which the soldiers had carried out their duties in E gypt amidst the greatest trials of heat , and hunger , and thirst —( applause)—and of all the troops that took part in the campaign there were no two finer battalions than the two battalions belonging to the Manchester Regiment . —( Applause ) . When the war was brought to a conclusion one of those battalions went out to India , and the other at the
present moment constituted the garrison of Her Majesty ' s Tower of London , which of itself was a distinction . It made his blood boil sometimes when he heard our soldiers accused of ill-conduct , because he knew that these accusations were not correct . During the war to which he had so many times referred our men behaved in the most excellent manner from the beginning of the campaign to the end of itand disciline strictl
, yet p was y maintained ; and all those results were achieved without any recourse being had to the lash . ( Applause . ) Thank God flogging in the army was now as much a thing of the past as hanging was for sheep stealing , and henceforth discipline in the face of the enemy would have to be maintained by appealing to the patriotism , the good feeling , the love of duty , and the love of country of our men , unbrutahsed by the cat-o ' nine-tails . It was but natural that he should be grateful to those who had hi
spoken so ghly of the soldiers with whom he had recently served and with whom he had ever been associated . It was to the soldiers that he felt they owed all the honours that had been heaped upon him by a gracious Sovereign and a generous people since his return home —( applause ) —and amongst all those honours to which he had referred—and they were many—there were none that he prized more highly , there were none that he s hould remember as long as he lived with more pleasure and pride than the honour they had done him that evening . ( Alause . )
pp The remaining toasts included "The Masonic Charities ; " "The Newly-Invested Officers ; " " The Ladies ; " and " Poor and Distressed Masons .
A programme of vocal music was excellently rendered by Miss Spary ( Clifton ) , Bros . G . Barton and Joseph Cantor ( Liverpool ) , and Mr . Eaton Barry . Bro . T . Campbell , Organist of the lodge , officiated as musical director . Bro . Dr . Allison played a grand march , composed by him for the occasion , entitled the " Wolseley March . "