P.G. Lodge Of Gloucestershire.

Death and Life , and wonder what tho secret is which has the curious powor of drawing together so many and such varied soul * of men , and wonder what ia the secret whioh attracts tho sovereign and the peasant—the statesman and the artizin—tho old man on the threshold of the new and nobler life—the yonng man jmt stepping

over the threshold of this life , now sad , coloured , and grey—MOW brig ht and joyous . What draws them hero together ? What , fills the ranks of onr Masonio Brothorhood in England with so many willing faithful companions ? Believe me , it is something nobler , grander than mere enjoyment , something more far-reaching than

good fellowship , deeper even than an imitation of a divine sympathy , thongh this last is a higher motive far than th ? others . See , this g lorious , this inimitable House was probably their work . Whit a void , what a groat empty space in the early Middle Ages would there not have been without the busy hand and thoughtful brain of onr

fathers in the Craft ? What a faithful , loyal companion must not the Mason have been to tbe Monk during those long , wild , stormy oenturios ! Nor has this fidelity , th ' 13 ancient friendship , died away . Snroly tho successor of the mitred Abbot of this time-honoured and storied house may point in deepest gratitude to tho glories of the

Eauctuory of his proud Cathedral—the latest work , the last gjueroas offering of his friend * , the Masons ! And as then , so now . I believe the busy , sunny life of tho EuglancT of today wonlil be poorer far withont tho spirit of our Craft . It makes but little noise , but it silently does its qniet work . It aids

not only its own bright Home , where the widow and the orphan are tenderly , lovingly oared for , not only its own sniforing , sad-hearted Brothers , but it whispers its noble maxim in many a brother ' s hoart , and not a few generous and high-soulod deods are , I know , the fmit of Eng lish Misonry . It is a secret Order , says the caviller at all

lofty aims . Yis , secret , because it never boasts ; socrofc , beoansa it carrios out tho Lord's true sweet command , which in good deeds bids tho rig ht hand to be ignorant of what tho left is doing . Wo are nrond in England of oar religion and our Queen ; our bravest and onr best believe that tho vast edifice of the Angle-Saxon Empire is great

and strong because it rests upon two mighty pillars—the Altar and the Throne . Am I not right in telling out that Throne and Altar are indeed sacred and precious to us English Masons ? Am I not , Brothers of our great Order , right in claiming that not a few of the most religions and the most loyal among us are members of onr

Order . May the G . A . O . T . U . preserve our Order pure and unsullied , religious and generous , among us . May He increase oar ranks , putting into tho hearts of tho foremost in onr land to join us ; the foremost in statecraft and letters , in science and in art ,

in religion , in patriotism , atd above all , tho foremost in deeds of loving charity and noble almsgiving , foremost in that sweet spirit of generosity and devoted love—so prized in the Courts of tbe House of the Many Mansions , where the angels are still tho Masons , and the Arohiteot is God .

During the siugtug of " The Church ' s One foundation , " a collection was taken on behalf of the Cathedral Fuml ; and , the service concluded , tho Brethren returned to the Chapter House in tho same order of procession as before for the resumption of the business of Provincial Grand

Lodge . The Provincial Grand Treasurer ( Bro . T . Nelson Foster ) presented his annual report , which showed a balance of £ 115 in hand ; and its adoptiou was proposed by Bro . Foster , and seconded by Bro . Porcher , and carried . A special report was then made by the Treasnrer as to the

Reredos account . It appeared from this that Messrs . Clayton and Bell ' s contract for the decoration of the reredos had amounted to £ 300 , of which £ 139 was still unsubscribed . The Provincial Grand Master proposed a contribution of £ 50 from the funds of the Provincial Grand

Lod ge . He said it had been suggested that the offertory in the Cathedral should bo devoted to this purp >? e , but he had felt that as that offertory had boon gathered from others who were not Masons , this course could not be permitted , and that the Masons would prefer themselves to

complete the work they had undertaken . He should himself be prepared to repent bis own subscription of £ 5 to the fund , and he was sure that those who had to-day seen the completed work must have been glad that they had the opportunit y of sharing' in the contribution of so beautiful

an object to tho decoration of thoir ancient Cathedral l > ro . the Dean seconded the proposal made from the chair , and said that since tho work had been begun he had had almost countless opportunities of hearing tho criticism of ail sorts and conditions of men upon its ; effect , and he did not overstate

the fact when he said that 9 G per cent , of w > at criticism was entirel y favourable He had beer , congratulated b y many of those best able to form an opinion , n the tact that in their dear old Cathedral they now had ^ o most beautiful East end in England . It was to him

hnn , rt" \ ar ( 1 0 V 2 r- '' ncreasing delight to look upon the wautital window , which they knew to be the largest the world , and ho believed also one of ibo most

obiPnt u' u then t 0 P ass frorn ifc fco the love 'v hu K ?I? contribution of which the liberality oi unL ; , had addefl - The Proposed vote was carried GranH ? V' " With a PP , anse . The Deputy Provincial the ., „ , 1 ' Chari , y Secretary to the Province , nad annual report of tho Charit y Committee , from whioh it

P.G. Lodge Of Gloucestershire.

appeared that during tho year three caudiJ » ti » from tho Province had boen elected as recipients of the benefits of the Masonic Institutions , viz ., one lad ( from Dursloy ) admitted to the Boys' School , and a distrossed Brother , from Cironuester , and tiio widow of a denoa-md Brither , at

Cheltenham , placed upon the pension lists of tho Male and Female Benevolent Funds respectively . Tho . ^ o elections , it was incidentally stated by Bro . Vassar-Sraith had boeu , as a consequence of tho largo number of candidates , expensive in votos , and the Provinco was now in debt , —for the

Schools 327 votes , and for the Benevolent Institution 2534 votes . The Province had been represented at the Festivals of tho Masonio Institutions by ten StewarJs , viz ., at the Boys' School Fostival , by four Stewards , with contributions amounting to £ 105 ; at the Girls '

School , by one Steward , with £ 21 ; and at the Bouevolent Festival , by fivo Stewards , with £ l 4 < i 7 s » . The contributions from the various Lodges to the Provincial Benevolent Fund had been £ 53 7 s 9 d . From this fund grants had been made to the amount of £ 55 , and the balance in

hand upon the account was now £ 137 . The Charity Committee , acting upon a full report , of the proceedings of the Provisional Management Committee of the Boys ' School , made by tho Charity Secretary ( aud of which Provisional Committee Bro . Vassar-Smith was a member ) ,

had decided to recommend the Lodges of the Province to subscribe to the Pension Indemnity Fond for Bro . Binckes , tho retiring Secretary of the Boys' School ( whose resignation takes effect on 30 th June ) , aud with one exception that recommendation had been acted upon , with the result

that more than the amount proportioned to the Province had been received , and it was proposed by tbe Charity Secretary to place the small balance remaining in hand to the Provincial Benevolent Fund . Bro . Vassar-Sraith concluded by moving tbe adoption of tbe report . This was

seconded by Brother G . Norman , who suggested , amid demonstrations of approval , the addition of an acknowledgment of the indebtedness of Provincial Grand Lodge to JrJro . Vassar-Smith for the active and successful part he had taken iu bringing about a settlement of the unfortunate

disorganisation which had existed in the Boys' School . With a few words of cordial endorsement from the Provincial Grand Master , the report was adopted , with the suggesied addition , and Brother Vassar-Smith , in acknowledging the compliment , spoke in very hopeful terms of the reform which the Proviiional Committro had

introduced into the school management . Brother Nelson Footer was ro-ehcted Treasurer , on the motion of the Deputy Prov . Grand Master , and Bro . Phillips was elected Tyler , on the motion of Bros . Lawrence and Ferris . The Provincial Grand Treasurer proposed a vote of ten guineas

to the Masonic Charities , which was seconded by Brother Felton , and carried . The Provincial Giaud Master said that before he cloned the Lodge he felt t ^ at he should be countenancing an act of ingratitude if he did not thank tbe Dean and Chapter for th * e welcome they had extended

to Provincial Graud Ledge in that historic building . It was to them uud their grant of that building for the meeting that , that successful gathering was dijp , and he would especially thank the Dean for the eloquoLt sermon which he , as Chaplain of the Lodge , had that day delivered .

Bro . Vassar-Smith seconded the vote , which was carried by acolamatiou . The roll of the Lodges was next called , after which the appointment and investiture of Officers for the ensuing year were made by the Provincial Grand Master , as follows : —

Bro . J . Bryan P . M . 839 ... ... Senior Warden W . Forth P . M . 246 ... ... Junior Warden Dr . Spencp , Dean of Gloncefter ... ) n . ,. Rev . P . Hattersley . Smith P . M . 82 j P , aln 8 J . A . Matthews P . M . 493 ... Registrar

T . Nelson Foster P . M . 839 .. Treasurer Jas . B . Wintorbotham P . M . 82 ... Secretary E . L . Baylis P . M . 82 ... ...Senior Deacon C . Swell P . M . 592 ... ... Junior Deacon W . Hfath W . M . 855 ... ... Sunt , of Works '

A . Baker W . M . ... . 7 _ W . G . Roberts P . M . 1067 ... ] D , V 3 ' Cerfl > T . Blinkhorn I . P . M . 1005 ... Sword Bearer W . Edwards I . P . M . 493 ) L . M . Weston I . P . M . 1362 . ' . ' . ' j Standarf * Bearers C . Leo Williams 839 ... '" Oreanist

J . David I . P . M . 702 ... ... par uivanfc W . Gardner ..., > A . Booth ... ..' . ^ C stewards E . F . Fomeroy ... , „) H . Phillips ... m Tyler Provincial Grand Lodge was then closed in due form ,