Prov. G. Lodge Of Monmouthshire.

was receivingau annuity of £ 40 and one widow £ 82 from the Benevolent Institution . A grant of £ 50 had been received from the Board of Benevolence for the widow of

a brother of the St . George ' s Lodge , No . 1008 , a most indefatigable Mason , who h id left his widow with a large family totally unprovided for ; it is proposed to undertake the election of one of these children to one or other of

the Schools . For this , continued monetary support is urgently requested to increase the voting power of the Province . In this connection we may add that Captain Homfray has accepted a Stewardship for the Boys' School

at the Festival to be held in 1889 , aud he earnestly invites the co-operation of Stewards from the various Lodges throughout the Province . The Prov . G . Treasurer Bro .

W . Pickford P . G . S . B . was thanked for his past services , and unanimously re-elected to the post , the duties of which he has so zealously administered during past years .

Later in the day a presentation of an oil portrait was made to Bro . Pickford , who has held the post of Prov . Grand Treasurer for the last quarter of a century . This

portrait , which is an excellent likeness , was executed by Mr . Villiers . A silver plate affixed to the frame boars tho following inscription : —¦

" Preseuted to Worshipful Bro . William Pickford Past Grand Standard Bearer England , P . M . No . 471 and P . P . S . G . W . Mori ., by the brethren of the Province , for his 25 years' faithful services as Provincial Grand Treasurer , at the P . G . L , banquet at Newport , ( Coronation Day ) 28 th June 1888 . "

The re-appointmentof Captain S . G . Homfray as Deputy Provincial Grand Master was then confirmed , and the Provincial Grand Officers were appointed and invested , as follow : — Past Grand Jubilee Honour . —Worshipful Bro . W . W . Morgan , M . D ., Past Senior Warden .

Bro . 0 . H . Oliver jun . P . M . 471 ... Senior Warden Nicol Bradley W . M . 2221 ... Junior Warden Rev . D . Wilks 47 l > „ . . . Rev . J . Osman 818 ... ... j Chaplains William Pickford P . G . St . Bearer Treasurer

UnarIesUutlumYV . ftl . 142 y ... Registrar Alfred Taylor P . M . 1429 ... Secretary W . Peil W . M . 457 Senior Deacon E . J . Whitley W . M . 471 ... Junior Deacon S . W . Yockney W . M . 2186 ... Superintendent of Works 0 . E . Parsons W . M . 683 ... Director of Ceremonies

C . L . Phillips W . M . 1098 ... Assistant Director of Cers . W . E Iwards W . M . 1562 ... Sword Baarer R . Edmunds W . M . 1258 ... Standard Bearer E . G . R . Richards 471 ... ... Organist W . Charles W . M . 818 ... ... Assistant Secretary A . Miller 2186 ... ... Pursuivant

VV . W . Stevens 471 ... ... 1 Frederick Phillips 1429 ... | D . F . Pritchard 2221 ... ... } . Stewards Stanley Callagban 2186 ...I D . M . Llowellyn 1258 ... .. . JJ L . Preece 818 ... ... Tyler H . Fletcher 471 ... ... Assistant Tylor

After a few complimentary remarks from the Provincial Grand Master as to the satisfactory way in which the Masonic work of the Province was being conducted , the brethren marched in procession to Holy Trinity Church . They were headed by sixteen sons of members of the

Silurian Lodge , bearing banners , under Bro . W . Stevens Grand Steward , and were followed by the Hungarian ( Cardiff ) Band . The service was conducted by the Rev . J- W . Osman , and tbe lessons read by the Rev . D . Bovven .

The sermon was preached by the Rey , D . Wilks ( vicar ) , Grand Chaplain , from Leviticus xix . 18 : "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself . " We have pleasure in appending the full text of our eloquent brother ' s discourse : —

Brethren , when three years ago I had the privilege of addressing you from this place , I placed before you a few though ta ou * ho 1 ' athcrhood of God , and endeavoured to show that when tho Creator of all things in heaven above and the earth beneath , coutisHccnded to call us and all maukind His children , He intended to express towardu Usl all the tenderness and love which the human relationship of

parent and chad implies ; and raore , for it is even possible for a father to neglect his sou ; " yea , even ft mother , " wr . r .-su J . ovn for her offspring is of all human affections the strongest , " may fori jot her sucking child that she should not have eompat ; s on on the son of hor Voiiib" ; but our Father iu heaven will nover forgo' us HLs children o ^ i / n

. rr ~~ . ^ j . ^; -,-, ,. ..., .. ^ u , f- - '<> , L re cure ii , could but realize this iVct ; if wo could but hold fast ; b J this truth ; if wo could but firmly believe that He orders every ^ veut and circumstance of our livc 3 , is indeed onr Fat hor r / ho loves us , n ore dearly than any earthly parent can , this doctrine would havo ? ,

Practical power that would influence our whole life ; and would encourage us to go with confidence to the throne of -race iu every 'me of need ; and would throw a light upon our path , aud bring a joy mto our hearts far beyond all expectation . If God is our Father : if

Prov. G. Lodge Of Monmouthshire.

we are the ohildron of one oomraon parent , then it necessarily follows that we are Brethren . Tho universal Fatherhood of God implies the universal brotherhood of man . This brotherhood ia wide as the human race . Every one born of woman has a olaim upon me as a mau and a brother , and I am taught in the revealed will of God to

love him as myself , and to be as ready to do a kind act as t" receive it . Every truo Maaon acknowledges this , and ho very naturall y inquires what is my duty to my brother . m ISH ? Win * is nn du'v to my brother-man ? An answer to i hat inuxirnnt qu > sti o i en . taiued in our text . The Groat Architect of the TJnive' ^ e—He ' et ' we

whom we daily bend the kuee ; and to whom we as His creatures are responsible for every action of our lives , gives us the command to love our neighbours as ourselves . And here you will observe He does not give us minute directions for the regulation of our conduct towards our fellow man . To have attempted that would have

burdened us with a mass of rules impossible of application to the ever varying circumstances of lifo . He does a simpler , and a far more effectual thiug than that . He supplies us with a grand princip le for our guidance—a principle capable of universal application , aud that will never leave us in doubt , as to wtiat is our duty . Love

is tho great motive by which God ia actuated in all flis dealings with us ; love must be the motive by which we should be acta ited in all our transactions with each other ; and the measure of that love must be equal to the love we have for ourselves . Here then in oue brief sentence we have summed up the whole duty of man to his

broiherman . And who of us who has ever endeavoured to grasp the fulness of this commandment ; who of ua who has tried to put it into practice has not stood in despair before it . How can we by any possibility have , not only towards our relatives and friends aud those who love us , but to every child of man without distinction , a feeling which can be described as love ? If man ' s nature were still what if was when

it came out of its makers hand ; if man had retaiued the divine image in which he was created , then he would see in God all the qualities which naturally excite his admiration and love in their perfection , and would be drawn more powerfully towards God thai towards any creature ; in a word be would love God supreru ly .

Aud if men were still perfect it would be natural to feel towards imr fellow men that interest , sympathy , attraction , and friendly dispo . sition which we call kindness , i . e ., the feeling which it is natural to feel towards our kind . Then it would have been an easy matter to observe the commandment to love our neighbours as ourselves . But

unfortunately man has not retained his innocence ; the divine image has been obliterated , and man has fallen from his first estate ; and so great has been the change in his whole nature , that instead < f loving God more than self , and loving his neighbour as himself , his degenerated nature is to dread God , and to hide himself from Him , and to shrink from his fellow man rather than to be drawn towards him .

This being so , how is possible for one to obey the command to love his neig hbonr as himself ? He cannot do so as long as he remains in his unrenewed state . Alienated from God , ho is also alienated from man . The first thing uecessary is a change of nature . The old sinful nature must bo destroyed and a uew nature impaitod . Every

Matter Masou has been taught this in a most striking n a mor , for I take it that the object of that moat impressive cerun o » y in the sublime degneis not merely to lead the candidate to a ot n etnplation of the closing hours of his existence , but to teach him in ¦¦ ¦ manner never to be ibrgotton , that , them should take plao-j in him a death

unto sin and a now birth unto rightcou-uess ; that every thing in hia nature that is false , and dishou ur ible , and sinful must die , and be buried ; and that there must be a le-miaeotiou unto a now life—a life

of truthfulness and honour , of iute » nty and uprightness , regarding a brother Mason ' s welfare as his own . God does nut lay on His creatures impossible duties , and a little thought and consideration will show us that this commandment ia not alter all > o difficult , as it

appears at first sight , and that it ia observed more widely than we are apt to think . We have constantly brought under our notice instances of strong love for others . Was there ever for instance a woman who ditl not love he :: chil I more than hersi If ? It is true that we do occasionally meet with such a person ; but then

we regard her as a monster who is devoid of the better instincts of her nature . Again , what father does not think more of the welfare of hia child than of hia own ? Bt . t it may be objected that these are natural instincts , and aie limited by consanguinity . If we , in obedience to a law of our nature , think more of tho

wellbeing of others than of our own , does not that go far to show that it was natural for mau as he came forth from his maker ' s bauds , aud before he was contaminated by sin to love his neigh , hour as he loved himself ? But do wo not find outside tho family circle many instances of thid love ? Is there no such thing as

friendship ? And who is thero that will riot deny himself to assist his friend ? But hovo again the objection may bo made that friendship ia a mutual advant ' . ge , and it may be a ! oged that if I help my frknei to-Jay it is because I hope to have his help to-morrow . Lot as than turn our attention outside the family ci'cle , and the

capdeco of friendship , and see whether wo cannot discover instauces of pure and unselfish love . Do wo not now and again fitid men making enormous sacrifices for tho benefit of strangers of whom they know nothing , and from whom they expect nothing ? Have we no 5 hoard of men who , a-L tho peril of life havo plunged into water , or

rushed into a IIGUJC on ( ire to ruueue a stranger ' s life ? Have we not rcr / d of ineu on board a sinking ship calmly standing aside that tho women and ohildron might find safety in the boats . ? Ail these show uu I ho possibility of carrying out tho golden rule of loving < nr riekdi hours . And what iui . s been the design of this ancient society

of which we have the honour to he m- 'vaibers , but of makiug it , easy for us to obey the Divine command : "Thou shalt lovo thy neighbour aa thyself . " Tho formation of ourselves iuto one great Society ; the constant meeting of men of different callings in life on equal terms ,

arid tho acknowledgments of our common brotherhood , have done and aro doing much to bind ua to each other in the bonds of love . " Bohold how good and joyful a thing it is , " says the Psalmi-f , " to brethren to dwell together in unity , " This ia a great feature iu th