Scotland.

impressive manner , supported by Bro . Gucirgides as S . W ., and Bro . James Walker as J . W ., and others . Among the visitors was Bro . W . H . Bickerton ( " Freemason " ) , from Glasgow . Bro . Wells , if proficient , was to receive the F . C . Degree on Friday , the 24 th ult ., and there is not the least doubt , from the manner in which the ceremony of this degree was given and the very great attention paid to it

by Bro . Wells , but what his proficiency will permit of his being passed to the F . C . Degree . There being no further business , the lodge was closed . GLASGOW . —CHAPTER CATHEDRAL ( NO . 67 ) met in the Masonic HaU , 2 2 , Struthers-strcet , Glasgow , on Thursday , 23 rd ult ., for the election of office-bearers , when the following companions were duly elected and installed by Companion George Thallon , Z . Chapter 119 . Companions

James Dulhie , Z . ; George Pridic , H . ; D . Ronald , J . ; J . Galdie , E . ; J . Mason , N . ; J . Wood , Treas . ; Samuel Bisland , First Soj . ; VV . Sloan , Second Soj . ; J . Dickie , Third Soj . ; Andrew Crawford , Janitor . On this occasion there was a good attendance of members of the chapter and visiting companions . The duty of installing the above companions was most ably performed by Companion Thallon . There being no further business , the chapter was closed .

Freemasonry In The Isle Of Man.

FREEMASONRY IN THE ISLE OF MAN .

¦( FROM A CORRESPONDENT . ) CASTLETOWN . —MONA LODGE ( NO . 212 , LC . )—Happening to be on a visit near the metropolis of " Elian Vannin , " I received a courteous invitation to visit the above lodge on the occasion of its last meeting , Monday , September 20 th , and was much pleased with what I saw and

heard . The chair was occupied by the W . M ., Bro . the Rev . S . E . Ferricr , M . A ., Government Chaplain of the Island , your correspondent was honoured by being requested to take charge of the West , while Bro . M . J . Backwell occupied the Junior Warden ' s chair . Among the other brethren present were Bros . James Mylchreest , P . M ., acting Org . ; R . Watterson , P . M . ; Dr . Edwards , George

Quaylc , Hon . Sec ; II . S . Mylchreest , I . G . ; Chicas , J . D ., and others whose names I do not remember . The lodge was opened in due form , when the following " opening ode " was sung : — Hail , Eternal ! by whose aid All created things were made ; Heaven and earth Thy vast design , Hear us , Architect Divine .

May our work , begun 111 'I hoc , liver blest with order be ; And may wc , when labours cease , Part in harmony and peace . By Thy glorious majesty , By the trust we place in Thee , By the badge and mystic sign , Hear us , Architect Divine .

1 he minutes were then read and declared to bc correctly recorded , and by them wc learned that the lodge had forwarded through the Governor of the Island , the Hon . II . B . Loch , himself a member of our brotherhood , , 1 : 1 address of congratulation to H . R . H . the Prince of Wales as M . W . Grand Master of English Freemasons . The ballot was then taken for Mr . Paterson , a candidate

for our mysteries anil privileges , which proving " clear " in the S . W . and E ., and that gentleman being present , he was duly initiated by Bro . Past Master James Mylchreest . On the conclusion of the ceremony , the chair of K . S . was again assumed by Bro . Ferricr , who read a telegram just received from a gallant colonel who intended to be present to claim preferment , but who was unexpectedly detained at Douglas . Afler some routine business , a vote of thanks

was accorded to your correspondent , and a request that on the occasion of his next visit he would meet the members at a lodge of instruction . There being no further business , the lodge was closed in solemn form , which included the singing of the following " closing ode : " — Now the evening shadows closing , Warn from toil to peaceful rest ; Mystic arts and rites reposing ,

Sacred , in each faithful breast . God of light , whose love unceasing Doth to all Thy works extend , Crown our Order with Thy blessing , Build , sustain us to the end . Humbly now wc bow before Thee ,

Grateful for Thy aid Divine ; Everlasting power and glory , Mighty Architect , bc Thine . The brethren then adjourned to light refreshment , and all separated in perfect harmony . I cannot close this report without giving expression to the pleasure my visit to the I . edge of Mona afforded me . I have attended many lodges ,

but never saw one better worked . Our brethren in the Isle of Man , however , labour under one disadvantage—they have no Provincial Grand Lodge , and this , perhaps , arises from the fact that the lodges hail under two Grand Lodges , England and Ireland . If all the lodges could bc placed under one jurisdiction , and the Governor bc constituted

Provincial Grind Master , it would add to the progress of Masonry and the advancement of its members . I noticed that one of the bye-laws of the Lodge of Mona wisely provided "that all officers quartered at Castletown , who arc Masons , shall bc deemed honorary members dur ' ni" - their stay . "

IIOU . OWAV sl ' ii . th-K . \ i 1 , 1 . 1 . KNT Pn . i . s . —Theresmrcesof chemistrv and medicine were Imigfiuitlessly tiled heforcthey welded a remedy wi . U h could iivci ' iome dixmlcrs of the stomach anil nerves , till Fro * . fe .- _ . nr llollow . 'iy ili .-invcrcd his purif yingniid tonic Fills . Thev arc tlie sure :, ! an-l .. alcst correctives of indigestion , hcailhurn , fjatn . Iccy , turpi , lily of the ) iccr , 1 witch iugs , nclvous fancies , despondence .

law spiviis , am ! declining strength . I lollowny ' s Fills sn , _ crbcdc a ' ll irr . ' ) Mil . "ir action oil lhe Iiody , anil so M lengthen and support'the _ -y _ -iein that ili-. cv . c dc | ¦ ari ' . an . l leates the patient not al all shaken . ' Jhi ^ i-i die i ; r .. n . l aim anil iil . jccl of medical ait , to regulate disordered functions without ilaniagiiigtheconstitulion hv the remcilv , and admirably is the end obtained he Holloway ' s Pill ' s . —ADVT .

Early Grand Encampment, Scotland.

EARLY GRAND ENCAMPMENT , SCOTLAND .

Thc Grand Council of the Early Grand Encampment in Scotland had their quarterly communication at the Sun Inn , Kilmarnock , on Saturday , the nth Sept . With one exception all the encampments were represented , producing the most successful meeting the Early Grand has experienced these last six years .

The encampment being opened in due and ancient form , business was proceeded with , minutes of last quarterly meeting were read and adopted , and , other preliminary matters being disposed of , the council then commenced proceedings with their annual election for Grand Officers , who being nominated in the usual way , the vote was taken , when the following candidates were found

successful , and simultaneously installed : —Alexander Pollock , M . N . G . C . ; James Pollock , P . G . C . ; Thomas Clark , G . S . ; Matthew Pollock , G . T . ; the other officers being filled by representatives from the various encampments present . A petition some time ago being presented by a few Sir Knights from Airdric for a warrant to erect an encampment acting under the E . G . in that place , having during the

prescribed time been under the consideration of the council , was forthwith granted , which gave entire satisfaction . The newly-elected M . N . C ., Sir Knt . A . Pollock , having ascended the throne , addressed the assembled Sir Knts . in an earnest and impressive manner , especially counselling them to use their utmost exertions in vindicating the claims of the E . G . Encampment , and repelling the insinuations of those whose

mission to this earth evidently consists in the amount of abuse and malignity they arc capable of casting on the devoted head of our Order . A few pithy remarks from other Sir Knights followed , each determined to maintain our old motto , " We were the first and wc shall be the last . " Business being accomplished to the satisfaction of all present , and the sentinels withdrawn from their posts , the

encampment closed m solemn form . The Sir Knights thereafter adjourned for refreshment , when a most pleasant and enjoyable evening was spent . The usual loyal , patriotic , and Masonic toasts were given and ably responded to , song and sentiment being pleasantly and artistically diversified , conducing much to the altogether most delightful meeting the E . G . has had .

An Oration

AN ORATION

DELIVERED 11 V REV . CANON TOWNSIIESD AT THE LAVING THE FOUNDATION STONE or THE NEW MASONIC MALI , AT HALIFAX , N . S . This comer stone which has collected together this imposing assemblage to-day is another illustration of the old adage and Masonic motto , " Magna est Veritas ct

prevalent . " Need I say that 1 refer to the past dark days of the brotherhood—past and gone , I trust , for evci—when prejudice and slander dogged the footsteps of Freemasons in sll lands ; when their purposes and acts were judged of in the ignorance of uncharitable suspicion , and their very existence denounced as hostile to the well-being of society . This corner stone , Most Worshipful Grand Master ,

implying as it does a stately fabric , is gratifying evidence , I say , that those evil days have passed away , and that happier times have succeeded , in the manifest propriety and extension of this ancient Craft , in the public confidence which it enjoys , and in the benevolent character which it has earned for itself throughout the world . There are few acts and ceremonies of past ages which have come down

to modern days more distinctly and intelligibly than tint in which wc arc at present engaged . The ritual of the ceremony may bc varied in different ages and nations ; but the act itself of laying a corner stone , and the ideas connected therewith , both in the substantial purposes , anil symbolical sense of the " Comer Stone , " suggest to our minds at this day the same thoughts as are expressed in that

beautiful passage of Sacred Writ from probably the oldest work extant in the world , the Book of Job . It is indeed the Deity Himself who is represented by the Patriarch as addressing him in these sublime words— " Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth ? Declare if thou hast understanding , who hath laid the measures thereof , if thou knowest ? or who hath stretched the line

upon it ? Whereupon arc the foundations thereof fastened . or who laid the corner stone thereof ; when the morning stars sang together , and all the Sons of God shouted for joy . "' And again , we have the same reference expressed byihe Blessed and Holy One , the Word by whom the world and all things in it were made quoting the words of the Royal Psalmist , "The stone which the builder rejected

the same is become the head of the corner ; this is the Lord ' s doing , and it is marvellous in our ejes . " We have , then , the testimony of both antiquity and Divine inspiration to the important character of tlie corner stone , whether a ; used in the material building or figuratively applied to spiritual and moral edification . The newspapers have made tav and wide the interesting

discovery of the corner stone of the first Masonic building of these maritime provinces , erected on this spot , and but lately taken down , to be succeeded by a noble temple and one more wvrthy of the name and fame of Freemasons , and better suited to the dignity of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia . Our new country , Most Worthy Grand Mastcr , ; cannot

boast of its antiquities ; we cannot point to our venerable cathedrals , nor our crumbling castles and towers of bygone days ; but no one could dnuht the existence of the genuine antiquarian spirit in the brotherhood , who witnessed the anxious searching for , and finally the joyous

exhuming of , the old corner stone , which hail rested undisturbed where it was laid by Royal hands three quarters of a century ago . Though all , 1 suppose , have perused with much pleasure the published copy of the inscription engraven on Ihe stone , let me read it now in the cars of this assemblage ,

An Oration

who are rej > eating to-day the work of their honoured forefathers , long since gone to rest , remembering with dcen solemnity that , as years roll on , the record of this outdeed , will again in turn afford to those who shall follow us the like subject of affectionate interest , when we who now look upon each other shall also have passed away , and entered into that Glorious Temple , not made with hands

eternal in the Heavens . The stone covered by the slab containing [ this inscription , held in a cavity prepared for it , a bottle in which were several of the current coins of the day , and parchment whose record had nearly disappeared . As well as wc could judge , it seemed to be a transcri pt of that engraven on the stone , with the exception of several signatures appended ; these interesting autographs of

good men and true we tried to decipher , in the special and loyal hope of tracing the letters of an illustrious name , associated with the early history of our province—His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent , the grandfather of His Royal Highness the present Most W . G . M . of all England , and the father of Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria whom God long preserve .

In referring to this ancient memento of by-gone days , one's thoughts naturally turn to the various changes which have taken place since that old corner stone was laid in the general condition of the world , but more especially in our own national history , both in the Fatherland and its Colonial Empire , in the political acts of wisdom which have been accomplished for the freedom of those in

bondage ; for the increased liberty and adjustment of the civil rights of the subject , and for the general social improvement of all classes of people ; in the naval and military renown of our country ; in the admirable discoveries and practical application of science ; in the controlling and utilizing of the tremendous powers of nature to the convenience and business of man . Compare the swift passages

ol those palace steamers which now leave , every week or two , this noble harbour for old England ' s shores , with the forty , fifty , sixty , and even seventy day voyage of 1800—yes , and for thirty years later ; or the flashing of thought , with lightning speed , from one side of the Atlantic to the other —with the letters of old date which the tardy packet of those days used to bring to anxious and impatient friends .

Time , however , will not permit mc to do more than refer to these two or three examples of the great changes and improvements of the last half century , in all the advantages of which our province and this city fully participate . Of the personal changes also which have occurred in the same period , 1 can only mention one , without which this address would be singularly deficient . Doubtless to many

here present there are other sad memories of dear brothers whose familiar faces they behold no longer in their fraternal meetings . But he of whom I would say a word in reverend remembrance is our latest loss ; for many years our worthy Mead and Master , and always the genial and warmhearted friend and brother , known far beyond the

boundaries of his own jurisdiction , and distinguished by numerous marks and testimonies of honour and esteem—while his generation lasts , the good honest face of Alexander Keith will not be forgotten , and . his memory for generations to come will be affectionately retained by those brothers who shall fill our places in the Masonic brotherhood of Nova Scotia .

In an old book taken out of rubbish in the garret of the old Masonic Hall which was lately demolished , entitled " Constitution of the Ancient Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons , " I find thefollowing scraps of information : " Frorrf Europe the Royal Art crossed the Atlantic with the first emigrants , and settled in various parts of America . It is said to have been known in Nova Scotia while in the

hands of the French . " " As early as the year 1750 , which was as soon almost as there were any houses erected at Halifax , wc find a number of brethren met together , with Governor Cornwallis at their head , deeming it , as they expressed it , for the good of the fraternity that Masonry should be propagated in the province , and that there was a necessity of encouraging it iu this place . Erasmus

lames Phillips , Esq ., of Annapolis Royal , was Provincial Grand Master at that time , and they agreed to petition him for a warrant to hold a lodge at Halifax , and that His Excellency might be Master of it . Governor Cornwallis was , while he resided in this province , Master of this lodge , lie was succeeded in the Government and in the chair by Governor Lawrence , who enjoyed both till his death . "

It is a remark trhich must offer itself to every person in the least acquainted with the state of progress of Masonry in this province , that it has ever been conducted by persons of the most respectable characters , and that those who have had the direction and management of public affairs have generally been zealous and active in promoting its growth . On Maichthe 18 th , 1751 , tlie second lodge was

formed at Halifax ; Bro . Murray , Deputy Grand Master . On St . John's Day they resolved to celebrate the festival with usual pomp , to walk in procession to the Governor ' s I louse , thence to church to prayers . But receiving melancholy news of the death of our brother , the late Prince of Wales , they resolved to appear in mourning as a mark of respect to his memorv .

Seven years after this a Grand Warrant was received from the R . W . and lion . William Stewart , Earl of Blcsington , G . M . of England , constituting Erasmus James Phillips , Esq ., Provincial Grand Master of Nova Scotia . G . M . Phillips was succeeded by His Honour , Jonathan Belcher , Esq ., Lieutenant-Governor of the province . Alter the death of R . W . Bro . Belcher , the affairs of the Craft lay dormant for many years . At last , in 1783 , the lodges of

about Halifax determined to petition the Grand Lodge England fur a renewal of former Grand Warrant . This was issued iu September , 1784 , constituting the Right W . John George Pyke , Esq ., Grand Master . Next year , G . M . Pykc resigned , and nominated Mis Excellency Governor Parker as his successor . Mis Excellency died on the 2 . 5 th of November , 1791 , and was succeeded by the R . W . " and Hon . Richard Bulkeley , President of His Ma-