Ireland.

channel , and , consequently , had the great satisfaction of completing our building without owing one single fraction , or contracting any debt , and consequently opened our doors and closed our accounts by handing over to the governors a good and substantial house and a balance to their credit . I shall , therefore , merely say that , in 181-3 , we found it difficult to get six or seven governors to attend our board meetings , even for the interesting purpose of recording the votes for

the admission of a candidate , when at our last election there were were nearly 4 , 000 votes recorded . So much for the careful management of the governors and various committees , ancl the untiring and watchful care of our respected and enthusiastic Secretary , our Brother Oldham , and the maternal care of our respected and esteemed matron , Mrs . Noble . In the year 1 S 51 , previous to the commencement of our new building , our income from every available source only realised the amount of £ 335

, and previous to that our income only realised a similar amount , with the munificent amount subscribed by his Grace—viz ., £ 50 . Now , after re-fuuding the stock sold out for the purpose of building , wo have now , thank goodness , the goodly income of £ 1 , 400 . At one time I recollect , when our cause was advocated from the pulpit , our institution was styled a little one , and from the slender means of support it met with , ancl from its comparative insignificanceit brought the reputation of the Order

, into sad disrespect , causing the name of Masonry to be sullied by the ill-natured remarks of the unenlightened , and branding the characters of thn members of the Order as voluptuous ancl profane , and our acts as a system of sloth . But now , thanks be to God , their odious epithets have vanished ancl are dispelled , and surrounded as we are to-night with the rank , elegance ,

and beauty of our metropolis ( applause ) , we may feel justly proud that the true elements of Masonry are appreciated and known to be founded on a rock—the immutable rock of Gospel purity and love—and that it instructs us in the three grand principles of our religion—our duty to God , our neighbour , and ourselves—teaching us truth , unity , and concord , and teaching us to open our eyes to the wants and necessities of those innocents of our departed brethren , and to

extend our hands towards them with the cup of consolation , and teaching us to give glory to God in the highest , and on earth to promote peace and goodwill towards men ; while it commands us to unite in one affectionate band of brotherhood , so that everywhere under the canopy of God ' s heaven a Mason can find a brother , and in every clime a home . There aro many and well-deserving applications from orphans whose claims we are obliged to postponeeven although our building is enlarged

, and our funds in a flourishing condition , till some of our present inmates are apprenticed or otherwise provided for . Although much has been clone , much more can be clone . Let us , then , my brethren , who have been spared by an all-wise Providence , as guardians and protectors of the daughters of our deceased brethren , who are raised up , redouble our exertions . Let us , then , I say , redouble our exertions in the support of this truly

noble institution . Let us work manfully and heartily in putting the funds in such an independent position that the orphans of our departed brothers may never want a home , a shelter , and an institution in which they will be protected , educated , and brought up , placing them in a position to earn an honest livelihood , and remain an undying ornament to the gem of Freemasonry . I shall conclude by giving you a single verse of a hymn which I wish to imprint ou your memory : —

Where ' er the poor and fatherless In deep distress are laid , Soft be our hearts to feel , And swift our hearts to aid . ( Loud applause . ) Colonel F . P . DUNHE , M . P ., then said he had been entrusted with a resolution which was of a more practical

, character than that which preceded it . They had heard from Sir Edward Borough and the Rev . Mr . AA ' estby , in eloquent terms , a sort of history of this institution , and no doubt they bad learned that it was their bounden duty to support the girls who were placed within it . Good feelings , good wishes , and good intentions were nothing unless these wishes were well directed and organised . They had amongst them who

many were willing to support the children of their deceased brethren who had kindl y feelings towards thorn ; but these were of very httleeffect unless there was organisation to bring a project for crrrying these good intentions out . The resolution he had been entrusted with required very little eloquence on his part ,

being a resolution of thanks to the committees of the school . First , there was the Finance Committee , and it was well shown to-night how well it had managed the affairs of the school . They had shown that from small beginnings they had gone on increasing , until the institution as it at present was appeared . He would not call it a charity , because he looked upon it more as an obligation than a charity to support those children . The next committee was that of education , and the

report had informed them of the success of that committee . They had been told that these girls were sent out into the world as good and useful members of society ( hear , hear ) , and that , after liaving parted from the school for years , turned with a longing and loving eye to that institution , in which they had derived and learned the most profitable and useful knowledge . The third committee , in gallantry , was perhaps entitled to the first place—that was the Ladies' Committee .

( Applause . ) It was not less useful than any of the others . He looked upon it as the most useful of all . ( Hear , hear . ) Wherever they looked for a work of love and charity to be forwarded they looked for the co-operation of the female sex to support them . They were not Masons , ancl in the six thousand years in which Masonry was claimed to have existed there had been only one lady a Freemason . She had , however , kept the secret as well as any of tiie brethren . The ladies who formed the

committee were the wives or sisters of Masons , and he believed that where the children to be educated were females , it coulcl hardly be expected that their education could be successfully carried out without female co-operation . Ho believed there was no Mason here who would noc join in a vote of thanks to the ladies who did so much for the institution . ( Applause . ) There was another committee called the Apprentice Committee , which was engaged in tbe practical workand lacing the young girls in

, p various apprenticeships at the expense of the society . There was a striking peculiarity in this institution—it could not be called a charity . The Mason , when dying , had a right to demand support for his orphan children , and there was none of that sense of humility which was peculiar to charities . That feeling was unknown in Masonry . In Masonry thoy did not recognise political creeds . They made no distinctions in rank . They looked upon all as fellowmen in all the relations of life .

He concluded by moving the following resolution -. — " iliac the thanks of this meeting are due to the members of the several committees of the institution , for the zealous ancl efficient manner in which they have discharged the duties devolving upon them , and for the lively interest they manifest in everything conducive to the prosperity and progress of the pupils of the Masonic Female Orphan School . " Bro . the Rev . \ V . C . P £ TJ _ I . ET seconded the resolution . It

was always a pleasant thing , he said , to vote thanks . It implied that some kindness had been done ,. and that the recipient appreciated it . It implied mutual good will and friendly feeling , aud was very appropriate on the present occasion , for it bore out the spirit of the institution , the motto of which was " Brotherly Love . " ( Applause . ) In order to appreciate the kindness of what had been done them , let them ask what it was ? When one of their committees was composed of ladies

they should be the more ready to give thanks , and , besides , the fact showed that the calumnious report that the ladies looked upon their association with rather a jealous and censorious eye was without foundation . ( Applause . ) Tho very existence of the ladies' committee proved that they were regarded by the ladies with more favourable eyes than was generally supposed . ( Applause . ) They had to thank these ladies and gentlemen for

serving on the committees . He was sure he expressed the opinion of all when he said that serving upon committees was certainly not one of the luxuries of life . So far as his experience went , it was one of tho dreary things which , for want of a better name , they called a necessary evil . In the first place , gentlemen who served ou committees did not always agree— -he purposely limited

his remark to gentlemen . ( Laughter . ) He never had the happiness to be present at a ladies ' committee ; but ho took it for granted that they acted in that spirit of harmony and goodwill which they would expect from the gentler sex . But gentlemen did not ahvays agree , and perhaps it was better that they did not . But even supposing everything was iu harmony , what was a committee ? Possibly , after giving up some interval of leisure , or some important engagement , you went into a large and very cold room , or a small ancl very hot room ; the chances were that your back was to the fire , or you sat in some corner where there was near your ear an open window , which dare not