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incomprehensible , look down graciously upon Thy servants who are about to presume to erect this building to the honour of Thy name . Let Thy Holy Spirit descend upon it in the blessing of Thy peculiar presence ; Thou that art everywhere , deign also to be with us . Thou that seest and nearest all things , look

down from Thy throne of glory , and give ear to our supplications ; and if , at any time hereafter , Thou shalt be moved , in Thy just displeasure , to punish this people for their transgressions , with any of Thy terrible judgments—famine , pestilence , or the sword—yet , if they make supplication and return to Thee , with all their heart and with all their soul , then hear Thou them , O Lord , in heaven , Thy dwelling place , and forgive their sin , and remove Thy judgment . "

The Prov . G . M . then said , — " Having laid this stone , may the Grand Architect , who has so kindly blessed us in the proceedings of the day , enable those engaged in the building to complete it , and may it hereafter be preserved from ruin and decay , and be of lasting prosperity . I therefore strew corn on the stone as the emblem of plenty ; I pour wine on it as the emblem of cheerfulness ; and I anoint it with oil as the emblem of comfort and consolation . " The G . M . then turning to the entire assembly , addressed it as follows : —" Fellow Craftsmen , respected vicar , citizens of this great and important town , and all who are

interested in this day ' s proceedings , if I had a hundred tongues and a hundred voices , I could not express to you sufficiently the probable result of the great events of this day ' s engagements . When men build schools , it is impossible to see the end thereof * To a few the end may be unfortunate , but to the many the end must be blessed . The education which the sons and daughters of the labourer , the artizan , the mechanic may receive at school may , in a few cases , have results we do not wish to see , but in the great majority of instances the result is most harmonizing , not to say divine . But if anything will tend to promote the true design and the

prosperity of this school and its kindred ones , which the vicar of this town so magnanimously contemplates , it will be the blessing of heaven which we have invoked this day on our undertaking . I almost invariably have found that out of evil good comes , that is , so long as man does not directly do evil that good may come ; but if I am not mistaken , the very dire plague and grievous sickness which desolated so many of the once happy homes of this town last year about this time , opened the eyes of the ecclesiastics as well as those of the civil authorities , to the alarming destitution of schools and the want of education for your children . I

cannot hut lament the destruction of valuable lives that pestilence made , but I must rejoice , as a Christian and as a man , that the rod has not ' smitten you in vain , that the scourge has produced such noble-minded efforts to stem and turn the evil tide of ignorance , and misery , its great companion . The mayor and corporation and the burgesses have been busily employed this day in laying the foundation stone for another school , but we , in no spirit of sectarian rivalry , have done the same for this school . There are , it is well known , other schools in this town and elsewhere , conducted on what are termed liberal principles ; but these

schools will be conducted on church principles . The scholastic duties within them are designed so that the children shall receive no religious bias or check from their teachers , as the schools are designed to teach dogmas of the church , and to bend the thoughts of children to a great and fixed society , and keep them there . These schools , therefore , will place the simple text of the Bible in the hands of their scholars , and leave it to their ministers to interpret , or authorize the teachers to interpret , the simple text by formularies and word of mouth . But however different may be the methods in which they proceed , I am sure that your mayor and your vicar have both one object in view , which is to promote the welfare of

the present and the rising generation , and the glory of God . I may illustrate their respective proceedings by your ships in your port . You must have bent ' knees * as well as ' straight planks' for a perfect and proper vessel . So you must have the bondings of the church and the straight lines of unfettered religion to perfect the proper proportions of the great social edifice in this land . So you observe there is no rivalry in this day ' s proceedings except the emulation for good purposes . There is , however , room for every possible exertion in bringing in the degraded and ignorant children from the streets and lanes of this town , and we all join head and heart in the excellent cause . We shall find that we can have unity