Province Of Surrey.

occasion and attended the annnal meeting of the Prov . Grand Lodge with which he had been so closely associated . After Provincial Grand Lodge had been formally opened , the P . G . Master was saluted and the roll of Lodges called . A full represent'tion waa the result , bnt when the names of Prov . G . Officers wero called we regret to

say several absentees were named . Tho minutes of Prov . G . Lodge held at Snrbiton in June 18 S 5 were read and confirmed . The reports of the Audit and Finance Committees were presented ; the result

displayed great prosperity on all sides , while the reports from the several Lodges in tho Province showed a steady progress fchat must be eminently gratifying to the Grand Master and all concerned in the welfare and rulins- of the Province . Bro . Geo . Price was nominated

as Prov . Grand Treasnrer for the ensuing twelve months , and the result of the ballot taken resulted in his being unanimously re-elected . General Brownrigg next reminded the brethren that , v . hen he found he was abont to lose the valuable services of Bro . the R ^ v . Charles J . Arnold , he had appointed their estimable brother Charles

Greenwood , who had been associated with the Province of Surrey for so many years , to succeed Bro . Arnold as Deputy Provincial Grand Master . From a variety of causes opportunity had not served hitherto for his public investment , though Bro . Greenwood had been fully recognised in his new position . He would now call on

the Provincial Grand Secretary to read tho Patent of Appointment . This request having been acceeded to , Bro . Greenwood was obligated and formall y invested as Deputy Provincial Grand Master , and was saluted in accordance with ancient custom . The following brethren were appointed and invested as the Officers for the next twelve months : —

Bro . F . A . Guimaraens 416 - - Senior Warden J . D . Langton 2096 - - Junior Warden Rev . Dr . Dawes 1872 - - . n . , Rev . W . Staiuer 1920 - . j P , ains Herbert Saxelby 463 - - Registrar 0 . Greenwood iun . 410 - - Secretary

Hugh Marcus Hobbs 2096 - " )<_ •T . G . Parsons Smith 1556 - - j Semor DeaConS — Jepps 410 - - -.,.,.

Alex . Eight 1742 - . j ° "ca " ° William Clifford 1826 - . Superintendent of Works W . H . Paddle 1851 - - Director of Ceremonies — Moorman 1981 - . Assist . Director of Cers .

W . Lane 1638 - - - Sword Bearer W . Pile 1892 . - . " > a . , _ _ W . Batchelor 452 - . . j Standard Bearera Courtney M . Gray 1920 - - Organist W . A . Laker 1362 - - . Pursnivant

— Storr 2146 - . . Assistant Pursuivant Samuel Ward 1861 Thomas Moreton 410 - . | Robert Bunce 1362 - _ V Stewards Henry Burgess 1553 — Young 1872 - -

Amongst items of general bnsiness transacted wo may mention that grants of £ 10 10-i each were made to the llnyal Masonic Institution for Boys , and to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution . It will b ^ remembered by most of our leaders that a provisional grant of 100 guineas was made in support of General Brownrigg ' s pro-udenry

on behalf of the Girls' School in May last ; a formal vote was to-day taken that the Provincial G . Treasnrer be empowered to hand over this amount , and the result , without a dissentient voice , was in favonr of the grant . The local Charities as usual were not overlooked , and the Parish Church of Croydon , which is now nndero . ) in < r

restoration , will benefit to the tune of ten guineas from Provincial Grand Lodge funds , in addition to the amount realised at the Offertory after the service that was held there , the amount being something like £ 6 4 s . In addressing the members of Provincial Grand Lodge , General

Brownrigg referred to the happy and prosperous condition of the several Lodges . He spoke of the generous and hearty support accorded on the occasion of his presidency at the Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , held in May last . The result was far beyond his most sanguine anticipations . He called attention to the

absence of several of the Provincial Grand Officers , and urged on those who undertook the duties to appreciate and carry ont their responsibilities . General Brownri gg next gave a cordial welcome to Bro . the Rev . C . . I . Arnold , assuring him of the gratification it afforded his Grand Lodge to welcome him on his present visit to this conutrv .

Before concluding , the Provincial Grand Master requested the attendance of the brethren at a short service at the Parish Church , where Bro . Arnold had kindly consented to preach . Provincial Grand Lodge was then closed , and tho brethren repaired to the Church . Here Bro . Arnold most eloquently discoursed , taking the following for his text : —

And he dreamed , and behold a ladder set np on the earth , and the top of it reached to heaven : aud behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it . "—Genesis xxviii . 12 . Sad and weary the solitary exile was sleeping , with a hard stone for his pillow , when this dream came to him ; and

Ji'om the deep impression that it made upon him it is clear that ^ ho was convinced it was no ordinary dream , but a distinct revelation from the Almighty . Then appeared to ami a ladder whoso feet rested ou the earth and the top reached to heaven , aH ' - saw angels of God ascending and descending un-n lie

*<•" - > ; . < . { L . K , IC \ .-rood above it , " j . nd there renewed the promises alread y made to his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac , tha . the land where ho was resting should become his property , that his seed should increase and multip l y and become a mighty uatiVi , nnd •M ™ seed a 11 tbe faini ! ' of the earth should bo blessed : ' and st'il further that God would guard and protect him in his joirney aud bring him safely back . again . When be awoke a great tear ot

Province Of Surrey.

God's presence fell npon him : he said , " Surely the Lord is in thia place ; and I knew it not . How dreadful is this place ! This is none other but the House of God , and this is the Gate of Heaven . " And then ho vowed a solemn vow that the Lord should ever be his God , and onsecrated the spot on which he had slept .

This message was one of love from God , for he called Jacob to be the progenitor of the Messiah , the promised Saviour of mankind , and also a message of encouragement , for God would protect hira iu all his wanderings , and bring him safely home again . Thus much we can easily understand , bnt what was the meaning of that ladder

which Jacob saw ? Evidently it was intended to signify to him that God was about to Tii . k * a path from earth to heaven ; that sinful man and his off . ruled maker should be reconciled , and that man should hereafter be enabled to ascend to heaven and dwell with God . Of what , then , was that ladder a type ? Was it a type of that

moral law which God himself proclaimed from Mount Sinai when he chose Israel for his people ? Surely not . The moral law never conducted any one to heaven . It was too hard for man to fulfil . The words of Scripture are , " There is none righteous , no not one . " The moral preconta wero like the rounds of a ladder placed one above

another with no sides to grasp to help the climber . A few steps , indeed , might have been mounted by the best of those whose lives and characters are recorded in the Old Testament History , but none reached the summit . No one by that ladder could ever have mounted to the joys of heaven .

My Brethren , that ladder was a typo of Jesus Christ , God s own son , the promised seed of Jacob , from whose family his virgin mother was born ; of Jesus Christ , who left the glory and bliss of heaven , and came to earth to sutler and die , that he might make atonement for the sin of man . By His life on earth He alone , amongst men , fulfilled

God ' s law , and then He gave Himself as a perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world , and thus purchased our redemption , reconciled us to His father , and opened unto us the gate to eternal life . "I , " said He , " am the way , the truth aud the life . " " I am the door ; by Me if any man enter in , he shall be saved . "

Thus Christ is the way—Christ is the door . He himself has ascended from earth to heaven , and before he went He said , " I go to prepare a place for you . " Whither Christ has gone , thither shall those go who are His . By Him as by a ladder shall they mount up from earth to heaven .

The place where the foot of the ladder appeared to stanci was consecrated to God by Jacob . It was a place ever to be remembered and reverenced by him as the scene of God ' s revelation , the entrance to his covenant . His feeling was expressed in the words , "This ia none other bnt the House of God , and this is the Gate of Heaven . "

Well , then , do we Masorrs in our tracing board represent Jacob a ladder as standing in God ' s temple and resting upon the Volume of the Sacred Law . This coming of Christ , the true ladder , was the fulfil , rnent of the prophecies contained in that Sacred Book , in which ia first dimlv shadowed forth , and then more and more clearly predicted

redemption through a Saviour who shonld open heaven to all true bdievers . The temple was the only place where a Jew could offer t ' e worship appointed by God , and in the Holy Place between the wings of the cherubim appeared the sacred fire denoting the constant presence of the Most High . God ' s promise to Solomon was ,

" I have hallowed this house which thou hast built to pat my name thee for ever : aud Mine eyes and Mine heart shall be there perpetually . " And in every House of God now we believe that He is especially prevent amongst us : it is as it were the gate of heaven , and ti . e foot of the ladder' rests within it , for Christ Himself gave the

blessed promise . " when two or three are gathered together iu My name , there con fin the midst of tli . m . " There , too , are tho angels of God ascending nnd descending upon that ladder , bearing the praye > s < f the faithful up to the throne of grace , and bringing down assurances of a Father's love and strength to enable His children

to overcome their spiritual enemies . There , too , His Holy Word is read and expounded , and His Sacraments duly administered : in the one we are grafted into Christ as members of His body , and in the other our union is constat tly renewed , when we are made one with Christ , and He is made one with us , just as He and the Father and

the Hol y Spirit are united together as one . But we , Brethren , as Masons are taught that the outward visible temple is a symbol of that inner temple of the heart in which the most High ought to dwell and reign . As Christians we are earnestly reminded of this . St . Paul says : "What know you not

that your body is the temple of tbe Holy Ghost which is in you ?' Tn each heart , as God's temple / must the ladder to heaven be erected ' " or Christ must dwell and reign in tho heart of each true disciple . And the rounds of that ladder by which we mount heavenwards are the Christian virtues .

Wo mount the first round by faith . There must be a true and living belief in the Existence of God— " the Creator and Preserver of all things , of infinite power wisdom and goodness . " And this faith must be based upon God's own Revelation in the Bible . 2 .:. ta _ * al religion mav lead us to believe in the existence of a God ; but God ,

the Father of onr Lord Jesus Christ , can only be known by the revelation of Himself to man . This faith will produce fear , reverence , worship , and love , as we are led on to know Him more and more

intimately . Conviction brings to the sinner s heart tear when ho thinks of God as his Judge ; but when he can look upon Him as his Father iu Heaven , and address him as such in prayer , then his heart is filled with reverential love .

The second round must be mounted by hope ; aud hope is a consequence of Faith . If we believe in the promises of God and in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ , then our heart is filled with a glorious hope of future bliss . Then nan we say , in the words of St . Peter , " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ;

which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again untn a lively hop ; by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead , to an inh ' . 'rr . arieo incorrupr . ible and tmdefiU . d and that f . ideth not away , reserved in heaven for us . " What would life bo without hope ? Oh how dull ! how cheerless ! how miserable ! "If in this life only we