Provincial.

young Mason , promised to be one of the best workers in the province ; and Bro . Barker , P . Prov . G . S . D ., a visitor , was pleased to express his gratification with the excellent working of the Lodge .

SOMERSETSHIRE . Bath . —Royal Cumberland Lodge of Instruction . —The Brethren of this' Lodge of Instruction , held under the sanction of the Royal Cumberland Lodge , No . 48 , celebrated the anniversary of their formation on Monday , the 23 rd June , at the George Inn , Hampton , where thirty-two members and visitors sat down to a supper which reflected the highest credit on the caterers . Good fellowship and mirth w ere the order of the day , and long before midnight every Brother quitted the convivial board and retired to his home .

On Thursday , the 26 th of June , the worshipful president , Bro . Bagshawe , was inducted into office for the third time . The chair was taken by P . M ., Bro . Percy Wells , the first president and founder of the Lodge of Instruction , who addressed the worshipful president elect in the following terms : — " The Brethren of this Lodge of Instruction have now for the third time elected you to fill the honourable post of president . Your re-election on the former and present occasions must be highly gratifying to your feelings , inasmuch

as it clearly evinces that your efforts to instruct your Brethren in the mysteries of the order have been fully appreciated . Masonry has three defined objects , namely , the promotion of our social , moral , and religious well-being . Socially , it tends to create a feeling of good fellowship ; morally , to the cultivation of mutual esteem and harmony . Vice , in all its different garbs , ought to be repugnant to us ; and envy and hatred unknown amongst us . We should vie with each other to see who can best work and best agree . We should correct eacli other ' s faults

mildly , and admonish with gentleness yet firmness . In fine , ever keep before our eyes that virtue , honour , and mercy , are the distinguishing attributes of every good Mason ; while prudence , temperance , fortitude , and justice , are the signposts by which we may steer our course through the dreary paths of life . Faith , hope , and charity , are the first doctrines we are taught in a Mason ' s Lodgethese constitute the very essence of religion . Faith in the G . A . O . T . U . ; hope in salvation ; and to be in charity with all mankind . In youth , as E . A ., we are

taught industriously to apply our minds to the attainment of useful knowledge , In manhood , as F . C , we are admonished to make that knowledge subservient to the discharge of our respective duties to God , our neighbour , and ourselves . So that in old age , as M . M ., we may enjoy the happy retrospect consequent upon a well-spent life , and die in the hope of seeing the G . A . O . T . U . in the beauty of holiness , and with Him enjoy eternity . In your actions in Lodge and in your intercourse with the world , you fulfil your duty as a social , moral , and

religious agent , and are therefore ( as every Master ought to be ) , a pattern worthy of imitation by us all . ft is a matter of gratification to me that I had the pleasure of conferring upon you the three degrees in Masonry . The rapid progress you have made in the knowledge of our mysteries , marked you out in less than twelve months after you had taken your 3 rd degree , as the fittest person upon whom the collar of S . W . of your Lodge could be bestowed ; and should it please

Providence to spare your life a few months , I feel assured that your Brethren will confer upon you the highest honour the Craft can give or the Lodge bestow upon any of its members . I have now , as you have been regularly inducted before , only to reinvest you with the apron , collar , and jewel of your office , and trust that you may be endowed with wisdom , strength , and beauty of knowledge , to rule this Lodge with satisfaction to your Brethren and yourself . "

The worshipful president was then placed in the chair , and proclaimed and saluted in the three several degrees ; and having appointed his officers for the ensuing three months , the Lodge was closed with prayer and in perfect harmony .

STAFFORDSHIRE . Tipton . —NoaJts Ark Lodge ( No . 435 ) .- —The usual meeting of the members of this Lodge took place at the Navigation Inn , on Friday , July 18 , when Bro ,