Provincial.

Grand Steward . \ Provmcial Grand Chaplain ^ vith the > Grand Steward-. '¦ ( volume of the Sacred Law . ) Deputy Provincial Grand Master . Grand Sword Bearer . Grand Steward , j The Eight U Worshipful Provincial j Grand Steward . / rand Master . \

The Senior Grand Deacon . Grand Tyler . The prayers were read by P . Prov . G . Chap . Bro . Rev . F . H . Gray ; and a most able and eloquent sermon was preached by Bro . the Rev . J . E . Cox , G . Chap , of the Grand Lodge of England . Taking as his text Galatians , vi . 2—¦ ¦ "'Bear ye one another ' s burdens , and so ' fulfil the law of Christ . " The preacher briefly alluded to the state of the Galatian Church at the time St . Paul wrote

this epistle , and then went on to observe that his business on that occasion was with the practical results of sincere and earnest faith , as evidences that a man was what he professed to be . One sure proof of a Christian profession was charity ; not merely what was conventionally so-called—alms-giving , or the—giving of bread to feed the poor , but that great and all-pervading principle of love one toward another—that feeling of universal Brotherhood which connected men together and bound them by the strongest ties —that charity

which , in the words of the Apostle , <{ suffereth long and is kind , envieth not , vaunteth not itself , is not puffed up , doth not behave itself unseemly , seeketh not her own , is not easily provoked , thinketh no evil , rejoiceth not in iniquity , but rejoiceth in the truth ; beareth all things , hopeth all things , endureth all things , and never faileth . " It was from the consideration of this virtue , as recommended equally by the Apostle to the Galatian Church as to that at Corinth , that he should endeavour to draw means of improvement on this

occasion . What was charity but the principle of " brotherly love , relief , and truth , " in all its fulness ? and those whose motto it was ought to be distinguished for honesty of purpose , scrupulous fidelity , and watchfulness over their words and actions . In truth , the great distinguishing mark and evidence of true religion , according to this Apostle , was involved in this one expression — " Bear ye one another ' s burdens . " Brotherly love , in a Scriptural sense , was regarded not as a simple grace or virtue from which corresponding effects

might be looked for , but a rich and varied endowment , embracing the whole man , and extending to all the springs of feeling . It was the opposite of almost every evil ; the fruit of every virtue ; the foundation of present and eternal happiness . He had taken the high ground of religion as the only basis upon which brotherly love could maintain a firm position ; and he was sure no Brother who understood the principles of the Order would object to his taking that position . He could assure those who were unacquainted with the mysteries

of the Fraternity that there was nothing in them incompatible with Christian duty—that there was no antagonism between religion and Freemasonry , but everything to strengthen and confirm its dictates . The principles of the Order were in fact drawn from that source of Divine truth—the Bible ; but for it , Freemasonry would never have existed ; and that wonderful bond of union which no distance could sever , no time dissolve , and which was recognized and acted upon in every part of the globe , could never have come into being . He spoke

this advisedly ; for if there was the slightest point in Masonry incompatible with his religious , moral , or social duties , he would not for a moment have remained a member of the Order . He did not say it had not been abused ; but it was by those who ought never to have been admitted , and who never would have been admitted if that strict examination had been made which its laws required .

There is no good that might not be turned into evil , and no blessing but might be torti . ? ed into a curse ; and while in this case the ill which had originated—not from the Order itself , but from unworthy members of it—had been made the most of , the vast amount of good it had effected throughout the world had boon put as much as possible out of sight . In conclusion , he advised every Brother to act up to the highest principles of the Order , remembering that it was only