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of the vast Dominion of Canada, and of the great Commonwealth of Australia, but he is also Emperor of India. And when we look to the great Southern Continents and find, with thankfulness, that the smoke of battles has cleared away, that the angel of peace has descended, may we not trust that, ere long, a loyal, united, and prosperous South Africa may form one of the most valuable of those "British Dominions beyond the Sea" which are, fitly, now included in the Royal Title? But, Your Excellency, I must not forget that there are other Addresses to be presented and I will not further detain you, but will, with your permission, now read and present the Address which has been entrusted to me, and I would ask, in the name of the general community of Hongkong, that Your Excellency would, in due course, kindly forward it to His Majesty the King,
The Address, terms:---
in the Was
following
Hongkong, 26th June, 1902.
TO HIS MAJESTY KING EDWARD VII, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India.
YOUR MAJESTY, Whilst from every part of Your Majesty's wide empire rejoicings arise on this the day of Your coronation, we, residents in the far eastern colony of Hongkong, diverse in race, nationality, creed and class, but one in devotion to Your Royal House and Person, respectfully tender our sincerest greetings.
Knowledge is lost in the dim centuries as to when the waters of old Cathay reflected the spreading sails of the first argosy from the west—the bold harbinger of our fleets of merchant steamships of to-day. The safety of the ocean highway is essential to our commerce and our intercourse with home. For the preservation of this, and of our property, and it may be of our lives, we rely upon Your Majesty's forces by sea and land, sure that their protection will not fail us as it has never failed us in the past.
The history of our colony is almost coeval with the ever memorable reign of Her late Majesty Queen Victoria. Sixty-one years ago, when the British flag was first unfurled here, Hongkong was a bare inhospitable rock, the resort of pirates and the fear of mariners. The steps of its progress during this period it is needless to recount. Under an enlightened government, dispensing an equal law, and encouraging and giving free scope to the enterprise of the people, Hongkong has become one of the principal ports in Your dominions, and is still advancing with a rapidity perhaps unsurpassed therein.
At the outset of Your Majesty's reign we rejoice to see drawing even closer than before the bond between the mother country and her dependencies; and we believe that their ever increasing importance in the empire, graciously recognised by Your addition of "the British Dominions beyond the Seas" to Your ancient title, is with Your accession beginning a new and glorious era in the history of the realm. And our gladness is the more profound in that, under Your Majesty's strong and benevolent administration, and by the valour of Your arms, peace has been established within Your borders, a peace which we are confident will bear a rich harvest of blessing, alike to the empire at large, and to the brave people who, no longer foes, have now become Your loyal subjects.
We ask to be permitted to extend our respectful and kindliest salutations to Her Majesty Queen Alexandra, Whose many gracious qualities have endeared Her throughout the lands of Her birth and Her adoption, and command the regard of the world. And we would also include in our congratulations His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, Whose visit to our colony in that service whereof He has shewn Himself so capable an officer those of us who were then here most happily remember, and Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, and all the Royal Family. We contemplate with gratification the ties of domestic relationship which unite Your Majesty to so many reigning Houses, and we regard those bonds as pledges of the amity between our nations which we trust will ever be maintained.
Upon the demise of Your Royal Father, a Prince universally revered, You were called, at an age early for such responsibility, to assume a share in the regal burdens of the state. The ready self-sacrifice and the wisdom with which You responded to that call have won, not only the dutiful loyalty of those who live beneath Your sceptre, but also their deep affection. And we earnestly pray that, under Divine Providence, Your Majesty and Your Royal Consort will long live in health and happiness to continue those beneficent works which it has been Your constant solicitude to promote, and to direct the destinies of the people whose glad homage is Your Own.
[Here followed signatures.]
HIS EXCELLENCY then formally accepted the Address, which was set upon the table.
This address was in the form of a book enclosed in gold-mounted covers, and was a very handsome work of art, reflecting credit upon Messrs. Kelly and Walsh for its practical execution.
Its size was about 18in. by 12½in. The covers were in Coronation red velvet and the front was set on with massive ornamentation in 20-carat gold. In the centre were the Royal Arms; the border was open-work of characteristic Chinese design, through which ran the emblem indicating wishes for long life to the recipient. At the top of the border appeared the Chinese character for "God bless you," and at the bottom another signifying congratulations. Imperial yellow silk lines the inside of the cover, on the back of which were four gold bats (good-luck), one at each corner. The Address itself was a splendid specimen of workmanship; the general scheme of colour was blue and gold, and it was printed on art paper. Each of the pages, of which there were five in all, was surrounded by an artistic border, hand-painted by Mr. C. T. Letton, of Messrs. Kelly and Walsh, in an exceedingly pretty and effective fashion. In it appeared in succession the Tudor rose, the thistle, the shamrock, and the leek, with the Initials "E" and "A" alternating between each emblem. The Address was placed in a camphor-wood box padded in yellow silk, with the inscription "E.R.I." in gold on the lid. The gold mounting was the work of Wang Hing, Queen's Road.
CD
Mr. E. C. Ray next stepped in front of the Governor and said—Your Excellency, District and Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Hongkong and South China. I appear before you in the absence of our District Grand Master, Sir Catchick Paul Chater, accompanied by the officers of the District Grand Lodge and the Masters and Wardens of the other Lodges working under our jurisdiction, together with the Masters and Wardens of Saint John's Lodge and the Lodge Naval and Military under the Scottish constitution, to present you with a Masonic address to His Majesty King Edward VII, notwithstanding the fact that part of it refers to His Majesty's actual Coronation, and to pray you to be so good as to receive it on His Majesty's behalf and to forward it for His Majesty's gracious acceptance. Sir, we may be permitted to hope that His Majesty's Coronation will not be long delayed. It has been, we trust, only postponed by the grave illness from which under Divine Providence His Majesty appears now to be happily recovering, and which has caused a wave of universal sympathy for England's Royal Family to flow from all parts of the earth—north, south, east, and west. The spontaneous wishes of all peoples and all nations are for His Majesty's welfare, and the brethren whom I represent desire respectfully to express to His Majesty their fraternal and happiest greetings and their heartfelt wishes for His Majesty's well-being. With your Excellency's permission I will now read the address.
Mr. RAY proceeded to read the Address, which was as follows:--
Hongkong, 26th June, 1902. To HIS MAJESTY KING EDWARD VII, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India.
YOUR MAJESTY, Within the walls of the historic Abbey of Westminster, surrounded by England's great and sacred dead and amid the