has not fallen into better hands than mine, but, whatever my
shortcomings, I am sure you will take the will for the deed.
This toast has been given for a great many successive years, and
the few remarks that I have to make to you will not be new to
the great portion of the vast assembly who are gathered here
this evening. At the same time, as I am your chairman, I think
it my duty to make a few observations in connexion with the
German Hospital.
"As most of you are doubtless aware, it has 103 beds generally
full, and last year the total in-and out-patients amounted to
about 18,000. Of these there were 1300 in-patients, of whom 240
were English. Besides the hospital there is a sanitarium, to
which 42 persons were admitted. The rooms there are
unfortunately limited in number, but the occupants are rather of
a well-to-do class, such as professors, governesses, clerks, and
others, who, in return for the services rendered to them, give a
small sum of money towards defraying the necessary costs. Last
year the expenses of the hospital were very heavy, amounting to
£6500, exclusive of £600 for improvements. This, I hear, is
likely to be increased considerably in the next accounts, owing
to the continuous rise of prices. Fortunately, I am able to
announce to you that the receipts nearly covered the
expenditure. The fixed income, however, can only be put down at
£1200 or £1300 a year, and the authorities of the hospital, to
carry it on successfully and to keep it out of debt, have to
collect annually between £4000 and £5000.
"I think every Englishman and every foreigner will agree as to
the necessity for a hospital founded as this is. We who are
Englishmen must all feel what a terrible position we should be
in if we found ourselves weary and sick in a country where it
was impossible to make ourselves understood. When, therefore, we
are told that in this London of ours all who speak German are
instantly admitted to this institution, we can readily imagine
the enormous benefits which foreigners and Germans especially
derive from it. There are, I am told, as many as 50,000 Germans
living in London, many of whom have to work in unhealthy trades,
such as sugar-baking. They are mostly confined indoors all day
long, and, but for this hospital, they would not know where to
go to find comfort and succour.
"A great merit, in my mind, of this institution is that it is a
free one. It is not at all necessary to obtain a letter of
recommendation before admission. Sick people have only to
present themselves there and speak German to insure that the
doors will be immediately thrown open to them, and that they
will be tended and cared for in the most admirable manner. The
nurses there are all trained in Elizabethan-stift at Darmstadt,
and they do their work admirably under the care of the excellent
chaplain (Dr. Walbaum), who has taken so deep an interest in the
welfare of the hospital. They are thus found most important to
the working of the hospital.
"As so many Englishmen derive benefit from the institution, I am
sure I can appeal to my fellow-countrymen to do all in their
power, and I ask the company generally to see if they cannot
collect a sum larger than on any previous occasion. At the last
annual dinner, at which the Duke of Cambridge presided, a sum of
£500 in excess of any former collection was obtained, and I hope
to-night we may even exceed the sum subscribed then. I may tell
you that a distinguished guest among us to-night, Baron von
Diergadt, of Bonn, sent us a few years ago the magnificent
donation of £10,000. I do not ask you, gentlemen, to give quite
so large a sum as the Baron, but I am sure that all that is in
your power to give you will. I desire to tender our thanks to
the Emperor of Austria for his munificent donation, announced
by his Ambassador this evening, and I will now ask you all most
cordially to assist me in supporting this excellent charity. I
give you as the toast of the evening: 'Prosperity to the German
Hospital.'"
The Secretary (Mr. Feldmann) afterwards announced the receipt of
donations (including £105 from the Prince of Wales, £200 from the
Emperor of Germany, and £100 from the Emperor of Austria) to the amount
of over £5000, being £1200 in excess of any previous collection. Other
toasts, including "The health of Baron von Diergadt, of Bonn," followed.
During dinner, Mr. Marriott's band played a selection of operatic music,
and afterward, at intervals, a choir, under the direction of Sir Julius
Benedict and Herr Ganz (all of whom gave their services gratuitously),
sang some German songs by Schubert, Schumann, Seidl, and other
composers.
INSTALLATION AS GRAND MASTER OF ENGLISH FREEMASONS.
_April 28th, 1875._
In the history of Freemasonry there has never occurred an event more
memorable, or a scene more imposing than the Installation of the Prince
of Wales as Grand Master of English Freemasons, at the Royal Albert
Hall, on the 28th of April, 1875. The vast Hall was filled with nearly
ten thousand members of the craft, of all ranks and degrees, and in
costume proper to their masonic conditions. An open space, in front of
the organ, had been reserved for the Grand Officers, and for
distinguished visitors, including deputations from various foreign
lodges.
The Earl of Carnarvon, the Pro-Grand Master, having taken his seat on
the throne, performed the ceremonies necessary for to convert the
assemblage into a meeting of the Grand Lodge, and the Minute of the
Prince's election as Grand Master having been read and confirmed, Garter
King-at-Arms formed and headed a procession to meet His Royal Highness.
The Duke of Connaught had already seated himself near the Pro-Grand
Master, and had been warmly received; but when the Prince entered the
Hall, the vast assemblage rose as one man, and, regardless for the
moment alike of Masonic order and of the ceremonies of the craft,
greeted him with such applause as even his experience at public
assemblages could seldom have heard equalled. The Prince was conducted
up the arena to a chair on the left of the Pro-Grand Master, and before
seating himself he bowed repeatedly in response to the plaudits of the
brethren. He then went through the forms prescribed by the Masonic
ritual, and was duly inducted into his throne, the enthusiasm of the
assembled Freemasons once again outstripping the proper order of the
ceremonial, and finding vent in cheers with which the building rang
again.
Garter King-at-Arms, who holds also the high Masonic office of Grand
Director of Ceremonies, then proclaimed His Royal Highness in due form,
and called upon the brethren to salute him in Masonic fashion. This
being done, the Earl of Carnarvon rose from the seat to which he had
retired, and, according to ancient custom, addressed the new Grand
Master on the duties of his office. He thus concluded his address:--
"Your Royal Highness is not the first by many of your illustrious family
who have sat in that chair. It is, no doubt, by the lustre of your great
name and position you will reflect honour on the craft to-day; but it is
also something to be at the head of such a body as is represented here.
I may truly say that never in the whole history of Freemasonry has such
a Grand Lodge been convened as that on which my eye rests at this
moment, and there is further an inner view to be taken, that so far as
my eyes can carry me over these serried ranks of white and blue, the
gold and purple, I recognise in them men who have solemnly taken
obligations of worth and morality--men who have undertaken the duties of
citizens and the loyalty of subjects. I am expressing but very feebly
the feelings and aspirations of this great assemblage when I say that I
trust the connexion of your Royal Highness with the craft may be
lasting, and that you may never have occasion for one moment's regret or
anxiety when you look back upon the events of to-day."
The Prince, who was again greeted with loud and prolonged cheering,
replied in the following terms:--
"Brethren, I am deeply grateful to the Most Worshipful the
Pro-Grand Master for the excessively kind words he has just
spoken to you, and for the cordial reception which you have
given me. It has been your unanimous wish that I should occupy
this chair as your Grand Master, and you have this day installed
me. It is difficult for me to find words adequate to express my
deep thanks for the honour which has already been bestowed upon
me--an honour which has, as history bears testimony, been
bestowed upon several members of my family, my predecessors;
and, brethren, it will always be my most ardent and sincere wish
to walk in the footsteps of good men who have preceded me, and,
with God's help, to fulfil the duties which I have been called
upon to occupy to-day.
"The Pro-Grand Master has told you, brethren, and I feel
convinced, that such an assemblage as this has never been
known; and when I look round me on this vast and spacious Hall,
and see those who have come from the north and south, from the
east and the west, it is, I trust, an omen which will prove on
this auspicious occasion an omen of good. The various duties
which I have to perform will frequently, I am afraid, not permit
me to attend so much to the duties of the craft as I should
desire; but you may be assured that when I have the time I shall
do the utmost to maintain this high position, and do my duty by
the craft, and by you on every possible occasion. Brethren, it
would be useless for me to recapitulate everything which has
been told you by the Pro-Grand Master relative to Freemasonry.
Every Englishman knows that the two great watchwords of the
craft are Loyalty and Charity. These are their watchwords, and
as long as Freemasons do not, as Freemasons, mix themselves up
in politics so long I am sure this high and noble order will
flourish, and will maintain the integrity of our great Empire.
"I thank you once more, brethren, for your cordial reception of
me to-day, and I thank you for having come such immense
distances to welcome me on this occasion. I assure you I shall
never forget to-day--never!"
The Prince resumed his seat amid loud cheers, which were long continued.
His Royal Highness spoke with a perfect elocution which rendered every
syllable audible to the whole of the vast assemblage; but when (adds the
reporter of the scene) in conclusion, he uttered a manifest impromptu in
saying that the reception which had been accorded to him, and the
spectacle which he witnessed, were things which to the last day of his
life he "should never forget--never!" there was just so much tremor of
his voice as seemed to show that even the trained self-possession of
Royalty was somewhat shaken, as indeed it well might be, by the
magnitude and the splendour of the spectacle.
At the conclusion of the Prince's address the march from "Eli" was
performed upon the organ, and then, a telegraphic address of
congratulation from the Grand Lodge at Genoa having previously been
read, deputations from the Grand Lodges of Scotland, Ireland, Sweden,
and Denmark were successively introduced. The Grand Master next
appointed the Earl of Carnarvon to be Pro-Grand Master, Lord
Skelmersdale to be Deputy Grand Master, and the Marquis of Hamilton and
the Lord Mayor to fill two chief offices in Grand Lodge. The nomination
of the Lord Mayor appeared to give especial pleasure to the brethren,
and his Lordship, as he took his official seat, was greeted by loud and
prolonged applause. The other grand officers were then appointed, and
at five o'clock the Lodge was formally closed. The Prince was conducted
to his retiring-room by a procession of the principal brethren, and the
assembly dispersed.
* * * * *
In the evening there was a banquet in the Freemasons' Hall, in Great
Queen Street, which was thronged as it was never thronged before. The
Prince of Wales, Most Worshipful Grand Master, presided; on his right
being the Duke of Connaught, and on his left Lord Skelmersdale, the
Deputy Grand Master. Distinguished officers and members of lodges from
all parts of the United Kingdom were present.
The Grand Master proposed the health of "The Queen," in these words:--
"Brethren, the first toast I shall have the honour to propose to
you this evening is one which I know will require as few words
as possible, as it is always drunk with enthusiasm at all great
meetings of Englishmen, more especially at meetings of the
craft. I propose 'The Health of Her Majesty the Queen, the
Patroness of our Order.'"
The Duke of Manchester, in proposing the health of "The Princess of
Wales and the rest of the Royal Family," said: "We have for the first
time among us as Most Worshipful Grand Master, the eldest son of Her
Majesty, and his brother, the Duke of Connaught, whom we all highly
esteem and love as the sons of a father whose memory we all so fondly
cherish, and whom we so much regret."
His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught responded, and proposed "The
health of the Most Worshipful the Grand Master."
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales replied:--
"Brethren, I beg to return my most sincere and my most grateful
thanks to the Junior Master Mason of England for the kind way in
which he has proposed my health, and to you, brethren, for the
cordial manner in which you have received it. This is the first
time, brethren, that I have had the honour of presiding at the
grand festival. I can assure you I am very grateful for your
kind reception of me this evening, and I sincerely hope that we
may have the pleasure of meeting together on these festive
occasions many, many long years to come. I shall never forget,
brethren, the ceremony of to-day and the reception which you
gave me. I only hope that you may never regret the choice you
have made of your Grand Master. Brethren, I assure you on all
occasions I shall do my utmost to do my duty in the position in
which you have so kindly placed me.
"Before sitting down, brethren, I have a toast to propose, which
I feel sure you will all drink with cordiality, and which to me
is a specially gratifying toast--that is, the health of our
illustrious brother the King of Sweden and Norway. It affords me
especial pleasure to propose this toast, as seven years ago I
became a member of this craft, initiated by the late King, the
brother of the present one. Thereby I consider I have a more
special interest in Sweden; and I hope that the Grand Lodges of
Sweden and of England may always be bound together in goodwill
and fraternal feeling. Our illustrious brother the King has been
especially pleased to send over five distinguished brethren to
take part in my installation. Therefore it affords me special
gratification to drink to the health of one who I know is such a
keen Freemason at heart, and so keen an Englishman, that he has
frequently visited our shores. Most cordially and heartily do I
call upon you, brethren, to drink to 'The health of our
illustrious brother the Most Worshipful Grand Master of Sweden,
His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway.'"
Count Salcza responded, and, speaking in French, he passed a high
eulogium on Freemasonry, and expressed his great gratification at the
magnificent ceremony that had been witnessed in the afternoon, laying
especial stress upon the Masonic good feeling between Sweden and Great
Britain. He spoke of himself as feeling that he stood among friends and
brothers, and he thanked them for their cordial reception.
His Royal Highness the Grand Master then said:--
"Brethren, we are honoured here this evening by the
representatives of the Grand Lodges of Scotland, of Ireland, and
of Sweden, and I feel convinced that you will all drink with me
most cordially and most heartily to their health. The Grand
Lodge of England is always most desirous of being on the best
possible terms with the Grand Lodges of Scotland and Ireland.
Although separate through having other Grand Masters, still
those three Grand Lodges may consider one another more or less
as one. I have great pleasure in proposing the health of my
noble friend and brother, Lord Rosslyn, as representative of the
Grand Lodge of Scotland, and I cannot forget the kind reception
I met with at Edinburgh some years ago when he was Deputy Grand
Master, and I received the rank of Patron of Scotch Freemasons
at the hands of the late Earl Dalhousie. It also gives me great
pleasure to propose the health of the representative of the
Grand Lodge of Ireland, coupled with the name of Brother
Shekleton, Deputy Grand Master. I have also the great privilege
of being Patron of the Irish Grand Lodge, which honour I also
remember, a few years ago, receiving from the late Duke of
Leinster, who was the popular Grand Master of Ireland at that
time, and the reception I met with I shall not easily forget. As
the representative of the Grand Lodge of Sweden it affords the
great pleasure to couple with this toast the name of the Admiral
on my left. As my earliest associations in Freemasonry have been
with the Grand Lodge of Sweden, I know when I address those
gentlemen I see before me they will appreciate the pleasure it
affords me in proposing this toast. Brethren, I give you the
toast of 'The Grand Lodges of Scotland, Ireland, and Sweden,
coupled with the names of Lord Rosslyn, Brother Shekleton, and
Admiral Oscar Dickson.' I also include in this toast all the
other Grand Lodges."
The toast having been drunk, Lord Rosslyn said:--
"Most Worshipful Grand Master and brethren, the honour that your Royal
Highness has done the deputation of the Grand Lodge of Scotland is
warmly appreciated by them. I am glad, indeed, to have the opportunity
after so many years' connexion with the Grand Lodge of Scotland--no less
than twenty-five years--of congratulating the craft of England and your
Royal Highness also, upon the most magnificent scene I have ever
witnessed in my life.
"I am glad also to think that the splendour, and, I must add, admirable
management of the display to-day, does not quite efface from your Royal
Highness's recollection, the scene upon a similar scale which we
endeavoured to offer you when we had the honour of having your name as
Patron of the Scottish craft. Your Royal Highness has been good enough
to say that you have not forgotten the occasion. I can assure your Royal
Highness no Scotchman will ever forget it, and I can speak on behalf of
the Grand Lodge of Scotland, with which I have been so long connected,
having served every office in it, from Junior Deacon up to Grand Master,
having been not quite a holiday Freemason, but worked my way from the
ranks up to the position I have the honour to hold now.
"His Royal Highness has this day told us what the duties of Freemasonry
are, and there is no doubt he has summed them up in two words--loyalty
and charity--which includes mercy, a quality that has been described by
the greatest of poets as becoming 'the throned Monarch better than his
crown.' There can be no doubt that under the auspices of the Most
Worshipful Grand Master the Grand Lodge of England will flourish, and
will continue to be a standard for Masonry all over the world."
Brother R. W. Shekleton, Deputy Grand Master of Ireland, spoke of the
loyalty of Irish Masons, who are, he said, "remarkable for fear of God,
fealty to the Sovereign, love to the brotherhood, and friendship to all
classes and creeds."
Brother Admiral Oscar Dickson returned thanks in the name of the Swedish
Grand Lodge for the honour conferred upon them.
The Most Worshipful Grand Master then proposed the toast of various
Grand Officers and Brethren, according to custom. Sir Erasmus Wilson
replied for the Stewards, whose special duty it was, with the aid of
their good Brother Francatelli (the Master Cook), to see to the humble
but necessary ceremonies consequent on our sublunary existence; or, in
the beautiful words of our Ritual: "to lead them to unite in the grand
design of being happy and communicating happiness."
As long before as the 1st of December, 1869, the Prince of Wales had
been received, at Freemasons' Hall, as a Past Grand Master, at a meeting
of the United Grand Lodge of England; and in a brief speech replied to
the address delivered by Lord Zetland, who was at that time Grand
Master.
One of the first appointments made by the Prince of Wales as Grand
Master was that of Colonel Shadwell Clerke, to the Secretaryship of the
Grand Lodge of England, an office the duties of which he performs with
great efficiency and courtesy.
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION.
_June 5th, 1875._
The object of this Institution is to provide pensions for Farmers, their
wives, widows, and unmarried orphan daughters. The Queen is patron, the
Duke of Richmond is President, and the Earl of Northbrook, Chairman of
the Executive Council. At the present time (1888), 647 persons are
maintained at an annual cost of nearly £14,000. The Prince of Wales has
always been a generous friend and supporter of the charity. At the Royal
Agricultural Show at Sandringham, in July, 1886, he called special
attention to it, and pleaded for increased support, as is necessary from
the continued and increasing depression of agriculture. At the present
moment above 400 persons, who have cultivated holdings varying from 2000
to 100 acres, are candidates for pensions, having been ruined through
the various causes of agricultural failure. During the past twenty-eight
years, about 1300 persons have been granted annuities, at a total
expenditure of £165,821.
At the fifteenth anniversary festival of the Institution, at Willis's
Rooms, on the 5th of June, 1875, the Prince of Wales presided. After
"The Queen," the patron of the charity, "The health of the Prince with
that of the Princess of Wales and the Royal Family," was proposed by the
Earl of Hardwicke, who said that the Prince of Wales had done them great
honour in presiding that evening. "It was only another testimony of that
interest which he takes in the welfare of every portion of the
community. The position of the Prince of Wales was not one of the
easiest. He has no definite duties, but the duty he has laid down for
himself is of a very definite nature. It is to benefit to the best of
his power all his fellow-creatures. He himself was not going to pass any
eulogiums on the Prince of Wales, although he had intimate knowledge of
his character and the privilege of his friendship. He would only say
that the Prince does credit to the very high position in which he is
placed, and that so long as he lays himself out to associate with
English people of all classes, and to faithfully discharge duties which,
if not in themselves very agreeable, are beneficial to the English race,
he will be a popular and able Prince. A duty more wrapt up with sympathy
than that which the Prince that evening undertook could not be
conceived. He tells the whole agricultural class of this country that he
places himself at their disposal to further their interests and to help
them in their distress. So long as the Royal Family cling to the soil of
this country, and mix with its life and its sports and amusements, they
will never fail to receive the support of their countrymen in all times
of trial."
The toast was received with cheers, and the Prince of Wales said:--
"It is difficult for me, gentlemen, to find words to express my
gratitude for the excessively kind manner in which my noble
friend has proposed this toast, and the cordial way in which you
have been kind enough to receive it. I need hardly tell you that
it affords me the greatest pleasure and satisfaction to occupy
the chair this evening. When I know those gentlemen who have
preceded me as your Chairmen, such as Mr. Disraeli, Lord Lytton,
the present Lord Derby, or the Duke of Richmond, I feel some
diffidence in addressing you this evening. At the same time I
think the proceedings of this evening will, as I hope, be short,
yet I trust they may be satisfactory to all here present.