Provincial.

and without fear of trouble to himself . More than this , he held there was no man in England more truly devoted to the best interests of ihe Craft , more familiar with its working , or more fitted in every way to be its exponent . Hs thought also he might congratulate his right Worshipful friend upon entering on tho rule of a province second to none in this country whether as regarded its prosperity , its wealth , the intelligence of its membersor the position which some of them took in the field

, of Masonry . Without for one moment desiring to speak in disparagement of small provinces , he thought there were many advantages connected with large provinces like this one , and he owned he should deeply regret if ever the province of Hants abandoned the advantages which he thought its present size gave it in the Craft , as he desired to see it not only worthily represented by its Prov . G . M ., but also by the number and

strength of its lodges securing the weight and importance , to credit and dignity that was always due to a large and influential province , and he hoped that when his right Worshipful friend had to surrender the charge lie had taken up that day the prosperity of the Craft would be still larger in in the province than it now is . The great and imposing ceremony which had taken place that day ought not , he thought , lihtly to pass from their recollection . To his mind it had

g spoken various morals . In the first place it pointed a distinct contradiction to those calumnies and misrepresentations wliich Masonry sometimes experienced . Those who followed the course of their proceedings—who carefully weighed all that was said and done—who look in the sense of the obligations , the promises , the professions , and the charges , must have felt that Freemasonry in England , at least , can never he accused , as it has been accused and villified sometimes abroad , as the friend of anarchy

and disorder , but rather that it is the sure , the loyal friend of order , of good government , of social harmony—in a word , of everything that tends to raise , to improve , and even to ennoble man ; that it is loyal to the great and sacred institutions of this country , and that it is intimately bound up with those great foundations upon wliich all the . peace , the happiness , and the prosperity of society depends . In the next place I think it must have suggested itself to every'brother ' s mind who attended to the proceedings this day that the fundamental principle was the

admission ot the worthiest to the highest position in the province . That was the principle they desired to recognise , and upon wliich he hoped they proceeded , and it was one which should be kept steadily in view , because in the administration of a large province it was right that none should be selected but those really competent and worthy to bear rule . And in the administration and management of their individual lodges they should , lie thought , diligently and carefully keep in mind that none should

be admitted to the Craft unless they are likely , in every sense of the word , to become good Masons . He cheerfully recognised the right of every lodge to admit those who might be agreeable companions , who from social habits and intercourse u-cro eligible as members of a society constituted in a great degree upon social considerations ; but he also hoped and believed that they would keep steadily before them that there are certain qualities requisite in their opinion—certain princiles with which they would

p not dispense when they admitted any to the fellowship aud membership of a lodge . They laboured under the difficulty that the principles of Freemasonry were in a great degree secret—they were not at liberty to publish them on the housetops , nor to make them the subject of itinerant lecturing ; but . on the other hand , they might at least refute the calumnies from time to time thrown out against them by showing that in their daily practice , in their constant habitual life , they not only put forward a

claim to certain great qualities and princples , but were prepared to exercise thein at any cost of personal trouble and at any sacrifice , no matter what the sacrifice might be , aud that they would act not so much in the letter as the spirit of their laws . Those who thus endeavoured to make Masonry a living reality would have an easy conscience ; they would feel that in their own sphere , be it humble or be it high , tint they have at least , according to their lights , done their best for the promotion of that

great Order to wliich they belong , to the welfare of which they are pledged , and , as he held , the interests of wliich they all had most dearly at heart . For the " Deputy Grand Master , Earl de Grey and Ripon , and Grand Officers , " Bros . Hervey , G . Sec ; Portal , P . G . W . of "England , and Stebbing , P . G . D . of England returned thanks , and the latter proposed the health of the R . W . the Prov . G . M . of Hampshire , and took the opportunity of explaining , in reference to some annoyance which the Isle of AVight brethren felt at

Provincial.

then- province having been annexed to Hants—that so far'from his having advocated the union , as had been misrepresented concerning him in some of the public papers , he had never ceased to oppose it ; and as to tbe Hampshire Masons having exerted themselves to the same end , be ventured to say that they knew nothing about it and bad nothing to do with it , and that they only desired , with himself , that nothing should disturb the kindly feeling which had ever existed between the Masons of

Hampshire and the Isle of Wight . The R . W . Prov . G . Master , in acknowledgement of the toast , made reference to the same subject , and said that he himself pointed out to the Grand Master certain objections wliich suggested themselves to him , in reference to the amalgamation of the two provinces , but the Grand Master having overruled them , he considered he should have been guilty of a grave dereliction of duthad he not at once given . He was anxious to ive

y way g the island brethren every facility for exercising the privileges of Freemasonry within th . ? Isle of Wight , and if the end would be attained by holding an additional Grand Lodge yearly , or by a half-yearly meeting , he should be found heartily co-operating and doing all that he could to give the island brethren every possible facility . From what he lied seen that day , he was not sure that the interests of so important a province was efficientl

y served by meeting only once a year . If it met with the concurrence of the brethren , it would be his duty to ask them to meet oftener , and as he knew it would he inconvenient to many to come long distances , he should ask advice upon the subject . Several other toasts were given and drunk befoz-e the company separated .

LANCASHIRE ( EAST ) . BoLTotf . —St . John ' s Lodge ( No . 221 ) . —This lodge met at Commercial Hotel , Market-square , on the Wth ult . The brethren present included Bros . Ellis Crompton , AV . M . ; E . C . Gilbert , S . W . ; and the following : Bros . J . W . Taylor , Entwistle , G . P . Brockbank , T . Mitchell , AVilliam Dawson , J . FitzNewton , and Joseph Howorih . Bro . James Martin Rutter was passed to the degree of F . C ., and Bro . Thomas Kay raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason .

LANCASHIRE ( WEST ) . ASHTOS-IX-MAKEIIEIET - . —Lodge of Faith ( No . 484 ) . —A regular meeting of this lodge was held at the Gerard ' s Arms Inn on Wednesday , the 18 th ult . Bro . E . C . Cooper , P . M ., acted as W .. M ., supported bv his officers , XV . Yates , S . W . ; F . E . Tetley , J . AV . ; AV . Cross , S . D . ; R . Cross , J . D . ; G . Hill , I . G . ; Penning . tonTreas . ; and H . WoodTler . There were also present Bros .

, , y S . Samin , P . M . ; S . Simpkin , S . Eatock , B . Blundell , E . Leigh , A . Lewis , and S . Howell . Bro . James Hamer , Prov . G . Treas ., AVest Lancashire , was present as a visitor . The lecture in the first degree in the seven sections was given by Bro . Hamer , assisted by the W . M ., Bro . Cooper , and was listened to with very great attention and interest by the whole of the brethren present , who afterwards passed a resolution that a vote of thanks be

recorded on the lodge hooks to Bro . Hamer for his uniform kindness for coming so great a distance to give them this beautiful lecture . The nomination of the W . M . then took place , when Bro . Yates was proposed . The election will take place in December . Pro . Pemiinaton expressed his deep regret at having to loso so efficient a W . M . as Bro . Cooper had been , but hoped Bro . Cooper would still loud them his valuable aid and assistance .

Scottish Constitution.

SCOTTISH CONSTITUTION .

METROPOLITAN . GRAND LODGE OP SCOTLAND , The Grand Lodge of Scotland assembled in the Freemasons ' Hall , Edinburgh , ou Tuesday evening , the 30 th ult ., to elect the office-bearers for the ensuing year , and to celebrate the festival of St . Andrew . The Right Hon . the Earl of Dalhousie , K . T ., G . C . B . the Most Worshiful Grand M asterwas on the throneand

, p , , amongst the visiting brethren were Dr . M'Cowan , Representative of the Grand Orient of France ; A . Hobinow , Representative of the Grand Lodge of Hamburg ; 0 , AV . Millar , Representative of the Grand Lodge of Saxony ; the Prince Ehodoeanakis , of Greece . After dinner , the usual loyal and masonic toasts were given by the Grand Master , who remarked that lie hoped it