Provincial.

other members of the glorious trio of which Charity is the mistress and the head , mig ht he not have said that faith would necessary fail when it was swallowed up in sight , and that hope would also fail when all was present , to the soul in actual and complete fruition ? But no such end could he assigned to charity ; love is as much needed in Heaven as it is upon earlh ; it . has nothing to do with tin e , it deals with presentpastand fuiure alikeit partakes ol tho being and

, , ; very character of God , —it is eternal like Him . Hence , " Charity never fails , " and that institution will last the longest which has in it most of the life of Charity ; - other things may diminish and decay , but Charity will undoubtedly increase and flourish for everand for evermore . Let us illustrate this by one or two examples . Charity was at the basis or foundation of God ' s ancient Church—that Churchwhich was first founded in the

, , wilderness , and which changed its outward dwelling-place from the tent and cords which it had there to the magnificent temple which Solomon built in Jerusalem , anil whose foundations were in the holy hills ; that Church was based upon charity or love . I don't say that there were not many uncharitable and unlovely things done by the members of it , —I don't say that it was at all perfect according to that conception which we have been able to

form under tbe teaching of Christ ; on tbe other hand , the point of my argument n quires me to lay stress upon the enormous imperfection of God ' s ancient Church . But still I say that Charity or Love was the foundation , and when the superstructure crumbled , as at last it did , that foundation of God was left sound ancl firm . For was not the love of God the first great commandment ofthe law , and the second like unto it , —namely ,

to love our neighbours as ourselves ? Do not suppose that our Lord imported these principles into a system which did not possess them already ; the doctors ofthe law in the days of our Lord ' s sojourn amongst us knew that these were the foundation of their Church ; and so , when Christ had enunciated to one who questioned Him these two great commandments , in the questioned replied , " Thou hast answered right . " Here , therefore , I think we have an example of charity not failing ; almost everything else failed iu the Jewish Church ; idolatry was rife atone time , and hypocrisy at another ; there is in the history of the

Church much of violence , of apostacy , of infidelity , and yet when we examine it in the New Testament , as it appears just before it was superseded by the dispensation of Christ , ive find the foundation of charity still remaining firm as adamant , and we find the popular recognition of the truth that love to God and love to our neighbour include the whole duty of man . So again , if we look at that Church which took the place ofthe old Jewish Church , and of which our Lord declared that the gates

of hell should never prevail against it , we find that ( humanly speaking ) much of its unfailing character is due to the fact that it is built upon charity . You will not , of course , suppose that I intend to undervalue "' the faith which was once delivered to the saints ; " the Church of Christ is built upon the revelation which God has been pleased to make of Himself through His blessed Son ; it is only a spurious kind of charity which can induce us to make liht of any portion ofthe truth which God has releavod

g ; bus still the quality which makes the Gospel of Christ so persuasive aud so powertul , which gives it an influence iar beyond the limits of tbe hearts and lives of those who receive it in its most genuine and most orthodox form , is the charity which prevades it . The coming down of Christ from Heaven to earth was a supreme act of charity . His death on the cross was still more mysteriously an ace of charity , and even those who do not accept these acts of divine charity in all tbe depth of their

mystery and with a lull recognition of their power as the deeds of a Redeemer , —even those persons acknowledge the charitable character of the Saviour ' s life and its effects upon the life of men . Men oilier about other matters , they differ scarcely at all ; about this . The mane of Christ has by common consent of civilized nations bevn identified with Charii y . To love unselfishl y is to he like Christ , to be gentle towards men , not to return railing for railingto feed our enemiesto forgive as we would wish

, , to be forgiven ; all this is to imitate Christ , and Him alone of all teachers whom the world has seen ; and whatever else may have changed this certainl y has not , and love is as much the end of Christian teaching now as it ever was since Christ preached tho sermon on the mount . And so once more , with regard to that society or institution which is especially brought before our minds to-day . AA hat has given it its remarkable vitality ? Much has been said against it ;

it has sometimes been condemned as a secret society , sometimes it has been proscribed from certain countries by law ; and yet it contrives to live on ; and it does so even under the apparently difficult condition imposed by the fact that the purpose which its name seems to express has passed away , that it is no longer a guild upon which practically depend great interests with respect to architecture or art . Nay , it boasts , rightly or wrongly , of being now as extensive as it ever was , ancl of reaching to all

civilized lands . How is this ? I think the answer is to be found in the words of St . Paul . " Charity never faileth . " It is the salt of brotherl y love which has preserved this body ; it is the strong ties of charity which have refused to give way , when other bonds have broken , and other more earthly cords have snapped ; ancl if this be so , then wo who look upon the institution from without may wish it Goel speed , we may regard it as one of tbe kindlinfluences which God bas ordained for

y drawing hearts nearer together , we may rejoice to be reminded in the midst of so much war and division and hatred that there are peaceful , quiet , loving influences at work tending , so far as they go , to knit men together in brotherly love , even though they oe of different nations and colours and languages . I say , advisidly , of all such influences " as far as they go ; " I by no means wish to compromise my position in this pulpit as a

preacher of tbe Gospel of Christ ; but , knowing that the Gospel of Christ and the Church formed upon that Gospel are tbe only institutions which can satisfy all men's wants and cravings , I can still afford to hail with satisfaction any societies which profess to be handmaids to religion , and not to attempt to supersede it . And tberfore , lee me conclude these remarks by observing to you that all societies which are based upon eharity seem to point toancl declare tbe necessity ofthat one

, , universal Society which has been built upon Jesus Christ as the corner-stone . There are societies of clivers kinds , and established on divers principles ; there is the society of the family , the closet and the dearest that nature knows ; and there is the society of the nation , the strong bonds of blood of ivhich we have just seen so striking a result in the rising up of the German people as one man to resist the invader and to defend the Fatherland ; and again , there are societies of caste and

profession , of men having common pursuits , common studies , common objects of interest ; and there are clubs for mutual benefit , and institutions such as that of Freemasonry , which bind together large masses of men in bonds of friendship and brotherhood , and reciprocal obligations ; hut there is no society so wide in its extent , ancl so deep in its principles , as that which Jesus Christ or Lord founded . " I believe , " we say ,, "in our Catholic and Apostolic Church . " The existence of this societ

y is so wonderful that it is put amongst the articles of the-Chri .-tian faith . Other societies are human ; this our society is divine . It may , and It does , exhibit during its earthly existence many of the frailties and imperfections that belong to this world , but like charity itself it cannot fail . Christ has promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it , and . depend upon it they never will . How could we think that

Satan ever should prevail against a church built upon tbe foundation of tbe Son of God ancl ransomed by His most preciousblood ? And is it not a joyful thing for us to think upon ; is it not tho thought which is most capable of supporting us in ail the difficulties , ancl trials , and troubles of this present life , that while all societies must come to an end , while all other bonds of union must crack , while all other societies must perish , that society which Christ has founded can never be dissolved ; but

will bind together those who love Him , and who love each other in the bonds of an eternal communion . The b anquet iu the evening was a great success , the brethren appearing still iu their Masonic insignia . Tho chair was occupied by the Prov . G . JI ., Lord Kenlis . supported by tho D . Prov . G . M ., Bro . Whitwell , M . P . ; Bros . Captain Braithwaite , J . Iredale , Revs . AV . Cockett , Saul , Bushcr , Gibson , AAlntehaven , and others . The Vice-chair was occupied by the newly-installed

Prov . G . S . W . the Eev . J . Simpson , supported by numerous and influential brethren from the various lodges . Tbe first toast was the " Queen , " followed by that of " Bro .. H . E . I-I . the Prince of Wales , "—the Chairman remarking that His Eoyal Highness having recently joined the order lie hasdisplayed the greatest interest in its success and prosperity . The Chairman next proposed the health of tbe " Bishop and . Clergy of the Diocese . " and the proposal with which the toast was accompanied that the sermon with which they had beea