Provincial Lodges.

Major Skinner , D . P . G . M ., said this was the third time he had risen to-night , and the other two occasions were easy to him in comparison to this , for it was difficult at all times to speak of himself , and he found himself received by the brethren in the manner he always had been for several years past ; but he assured them it was with more than ordinary feelings of gratitude that he returned them his heartfelt thanks . Ho begged to inform the ladies that then' day was divided into three parts—part to prayer to God , part- to labour , and part to serve a Brother —( Cheers ) . They came

here to-day especially to honour the head of the Craft in this province ; their labours had been discharged in another room , and he only regretted those labours were not commenced with public prayer and thanksgiving to God in their beautiful church , whose bells they had just heard chime —( Cheers ) . They considered Masonry as the standard of truth and justice , and they endeavoured to regulate their actions by the divine precepts it contained , and the important duties they owed to God , their neighbourand themselves —( Cheers)—to God by never mentioning his name without that

, reverence due from the creature to the Creator , and looking up to Him in their emergencies for comfort ; to their neighbour by acting with him on the square , by relieving his suffering and soothing his afflictions , and doing to him as they would wish him in similar circumstances should do to them ; to themselves by such well-regulated conduct as would conduce to the improvement of their corporeal and mental faculties , thereby

to exercise their talents for the good of themselves and their neighbours . " Ladies , continued he , " when you go home this evening you will probably be asked by your fathers , and brothers , and husbands , what is Masonry—what are the secrets of Masonry ? Tell them this—it is a great arrangement for benevolent acts ; tell them Freemasonry is to be found in the sacred volume , and that its three grand principles are—Charity , Relief , and Truth "—( Cheers ) . He thanked the P . G . M . for placing him in the situation ho held ; his predecessor did the same ; and if he had gained the

esteem of his brethren of the Lodge , it would reward him for any little trouble he had taken in visiting the lodges , since for four years he had taken upon himself this duty in the province , and he trusted he might say he had in some small degree thus tended to confer a little benefit on the Craft—( Cheers ) . Dr . Rowe , P . D . P . G . M ., also returned thanks , observing he was rude in speech and little acquainted with the ways of oratory , but thus much he would say , that he begged to greet Br . Bagshaw on arriving at the distinguished position which he iedand

occup , also on the attendance of the D . G . M . of England , who was always received by Masons with that kindness which his merits so fully entitled him to , for he possessed those excellent qualities that most strongly endeared him to them ; and in truth he might say to the whole world , " There is a man "—( Cheers ) . Ladies were not always admitted into their meetings , but they gave a charm to them , and he could tell them in the words of an old song —•

" No mortal no more oau the ladies adore Than a free and accepted mason . " ( Cheers ) . He ( Dr . Rowe ) was for many years the D . G . M ., and some of the happiest moments of his existence were passed there , and though he was not now in office he hoped he still possessed the esteem of the Masons of Essex . The last time he addressed the Lodge in Essex was on an occasion when their late P . G . M ., whose illness he extremely deplored , called them together , and as one fact was worth a thousand

theories , he would state the circumstances of the case then submitted to them , as it was calculated to impress on their minds the value of Freemasonry . A few years ago their P . G . C , Br . Hewlett , became in distress ; he had a wife and nine or ten children , with little means of providing for such a family . His wife died , leaving him with nine or ten children in pecuniary difficulties ; this was succeeded in a few weeks by his own death . He was a man distinguished in the literary world ; he was the author of "Peter Priggins" and he charmed and delihted the world at largeAVhen he died

, g . , there was an execution in his house , and lie need not tell them the accumulation of misery which that produced . But when it came to the ears of the Rochford Lodge , they nobly came forward , paid out the execution , buried their Rev . Brother , started a subscription to relieve the necessities of the famil y , and at once collected 4 ' 20 . It