Provincial.

the duties of Grand Chaplain , the Bev . Bro . Oetavius Preire Owen , the Prov . G . Chap , of Surrey . Bro „ Owen , in responding , said , in reference to the absurd paragraph the Prov . G . M . had brought before their notice , Could it be supposed that Masonry was unworthy of Christians , or the latter of Masonry ? Were none but outcasts and bad men to be Masons ? He thought the journalist must have had in his mind a satire a celebrated caricaturist had passed on a public institution of his

day . A young girl in distress applied to the institution in question for relief , and on being asked as to the crimes or sins she had committed , and pleading not guilty to any , was told that without such awkward qualification she was inadmissible . ( Boars of laughter . ) Now , the great principle of their institution was universality ; it acknowledged no sect , the recipients of its boundless beneficence were of every creed , and the clergy of the Church of England had ever been its promoters . This libel on the Masons of Kent must have

emanated from one who knew nothing of the principles of Freemasonry . Human life was too short for any individual to discharge half the claims of his brother man , far too brief to encourage us to fall out by the way ! Pie thanked them for the kind reception he had met with , and having no clerical duties at the present time to perform , his services were always at the command of his Brother Masons . His gratification was increased by again meeting an old college friend in Bro . Campbell , whose services in Masonry , he was much pleased to see , had been recognised by the high and honourable station he had filled .

The toast of "The Past Grand Officers" was briefly responded to by Bro . Harvey Boys . The Prov . G . M . then gave " The W . M . and members of the Dartford Lodge , " who had so well and so amply provided for their comfort and enjoyment that day . Bro . Landale , the W . M . of No . 376 , was pleased to find their labours had been so successful , and assured the Prov . S . W . that great as those efforts had been , the finances of the Lodge had not been imperilled . The Prov . G . M . called the attention of the Brethren to a communication he

had received from the Upper House , that the toast of " The Ladies " should be given by Bro . Owen ; he therefore called upon his reverend Brother to discharge that duty . Bro . Owen , on rising , said , Kent was termed the garden of England , and although perhaps the lateness of the season might be the cause , he thought the flowers of the field were eclipsed by those under the bonnet ; and if those assembled doubted his position , let them look at the gallery . In proposing the toast committed to him , Bro .

Owen said he knew he was addressing those who were able to set a proper value on the other sex , by inviting such an assemblage of their wives and sisters to grace the meeting , and knowing somewhat of the county , he could assure them , for excellence as well as attractions , they might go further and fare worse . Masons were proverbial for their kindness and consideration for woman , and when a man ignored the female sex , it was the first step to barbarism ; amongst the Hottentots

the first proof of manhood was to beat one ' s mother . ( Cheers . ) To woman the male sex owed everything , as without her , earth would be without " form and void . " Dartford was famous for its powder-magazines ; he would take a simile from that fact , and express a hope that in their domestic circles , irradiated by female presence , they might always have the fire of connubial affection without any risk of explosion . ( Laughter . ) He gave The Ladies . " ( Reiterated cheers . )

Bro . Campbell , in acknowledging for the ladies the handsome reception of the toast , said , How many thoughtless persons were eloquent in praise of huge head coverings ; but if a woman had a face worth looking at , let her adhere to the small bonnet . The poet says"Nature needs not the foreign aid of ornanent ;"

he disputed that much-used aphorism . The ladies' presence was a sanction to the institution , and he trusted that Masonry never would destroy the domestic tie ; but on the return to his fireside , every Mason could justify Ids absence by the cause in which he had been engaged , and he more especially alluded to the charities of the Order . VOL . 11 . 3 IT