Provincial.

assist him , and he hoped , especially by the aid of the distin guished -Mason who was his immediate P . M ., that the honour and dignity of the Royal Clarence Lodge would not he impaired while entrusted to his hands . Bro . George AV . King-, P . M ., proposed " The newly-initiated and the joining members . " Bros . E . J . Reed and R . B . Needham replied in most

appropriate terms . Bro . AV . A errall , P . M . proposed the "A isitors " stating the number of them was 48 . The reply of Bro . Rev . Dr . Richards , Prov . J . G . AV ., was well received .

The AY . M . in proposing the " P . M . ' s ot the Royal Clarence Lodge , said , the last brother who spoke , mentioned the 48 who were welcomed to that lodge and table , as visitors ; but he had now to speak of another number , comprising those whom the lodge always delighted to honour , viz ., the twenty P . M . ' s whom he that evening had the great pleasure of decorating with P . M . ' s jewels , presented to them by the lodge in recognition of their past services . He had intended to couple with this toast the

name of "Bro . Cordy the senior P . M . and the father of this lodge , but iu his unavoidable absence , he should associate the name of Bro . John H . Scott" who was well-known to the Masons of Sussex for his great proficiency in the ceremonies , and in doing so he wished not only to express his admiration of Bro . Scott ' s Alasonic abilities , but also to assure him of his own feelings of personal regard and friendship , which he hoped might

long continue . The toast was warmly and heartily received , and in reply Bro . John H . Scott said : AVorshipful Master and Brethren- —I regret exceedingly that Bro . Cordy has been compelled to leave , because , being the father ofthe lodge and the oldest Past Master , the response to the last toast would have come more appropriatelfrom him

y than from me , hut I am fortified in what would otherwise be a difficult task by the kind expressions of personal regard which you , AVorshipful Master , have used towards me , and also by the assurance that it is the wish of my brother P . M . ' s that I should be their spokesman on this occasion in expressing our gratitude for the graceful and generous act of courtesy , I may say of charitywhich has formed so conspicuous a feature in to-day's

, proceedings . I use the word charity , brethren , advisedly , to rescue it , if only for a moment , from its too commonly accepted interpretation , mere alms giving , and so to relieve tbe minds of lis who . while cordialy approving of the . compliment to be paid to the P . M . ' s , have , nevertheless , entertained misgivings that

in some way or other the money which has been spent in the purchase of these jewels has not been altogether a right application of our funds . Iu every lodge there are those who think that the funds of a lodge should be devoted exclusively to charity . Now although this opinion springs from a very laudable motive , it is , nevertheless , an unsound one , and if it were generally adopted we should find ourselves hampered and restricted in ways which we should often find to be very vexatious ;

besides which , it has always been a mystery to me how those brethren who entertain this opinion can reconcile it to their consciences every year to vote away from the funds of the lodge I will not say lion- much money to pay for the wine which we drink at our banquets . If that he charity , in their sense , it is a most remarkable illustration of the old adage , that "Charity begins at home . " The incongruity -aiises from a one-sided use

of that glorious word . "Charity . " As I said before , it is so frequently used in its most limited sense , merely as relief , that it becomes associated in our minds as meaning little else . But that charity which " has the approbation of Heaven and of Earth , " which , "like its sister mercy , is twice blessed , " that charity , which , we are told on the authority ofthe Sacred A olnme , is the greatest of all virtues , is wide in its significancemanifold in its

, operations ; at one time it will be found pouring- " the healing balm of consolation into the bosom of lhe afllicted , " at another relieving the necessities of the distressed , at another cheering the weary aud way-worn in their hours of despondency , and again , and then surely in its brightest and most attractive form , it is found mingling iu those " small sweet courtesies of life which make leasant the

p path of it , " dispensing those kindly offices , those delicate attentions , those daily blessings which go to make up the sum of human happiness , making this world a world of joy and gladness , and life worth living for . Any act then that springs from a generous and unselfish motive , aud whicli has for its object the good of others , is as much au act of charity as the giving a guinea to a

brother because he may happen to be in need , or the voting large sums of money from our funds to relieve his distress . And so , brethren , we , the P . M . ' s of the Royal Clarence Lodge , stand before you this evening , though not "' in forma pauperis , " yet , nevertheless , the glad and grateful recipients of your charity , a charity which has prompted you—now when the lodje is prosperousnow when it is strong in numbersin influenceand in

, , , position , now , too , when it is presided over by a nobleman whose advent amongst the Masons of Sussex was hailed with satisfaction by every brother in the province—I say , in this proud moment of success , it is a noble and generous sentiment which has prompted you to remember what is due to those brethren who have served you faithfully in bygone times , aud to acknowledge services which , though iu many instances they are seen through

the long , dim , receding vista of far back years , were not the less instrumental in laying the strong foundations on which our presant prosperity is securely based . Brethren , we thank you for your remembrance . In future , when we look upon those jewels , they will remind us that we are P . AI . ' s of a lodge to which any brother may deem it an honour and a privilege to belong , a lodge which for more than 80 years has been tbe mainstay of

Freemasonry ill this town , and was instrumental in resuscitating our Order throughout the Province , a lodge whoso past history is found worthy and of good report , whose present is pregnant with great hopes , and whose future I will venture to say will not disgrace its present or its past , but will continue to exhibit that order , that good working , and that devotion to true Masonic principles which has made the Clarence Lodge what it is . On

behalf of my brother Past Musters , I tliauk you for the kindness we have received from you on this aud every occasion . Bro . AVilliam Lovday , I . G ., in replying tor the officers of the lodge , said : I feel , as I always have felt , some diffidence in addressing a meeting so largely composed of my seniors and superiors in Masonry , but I have been sufficiently long a member of this honourable and honoured fraternity to have

formed some tolerably definite opinions as to the object and value of the institution , and to dare to give expression to them . The object ,- as I take it , is to draw together worthy men , and we trust , worthy men only , of every shade of religious belief and every diversity of political opinion , iu a bond of

brotherhood more clearly united them , exists under any other known system , and if Masonry fails to accomplish this , it is not from any lack of virtue in itself and its doctrines , but because its members have been false to the pledges entered into at their initiation , and have been more desirous of their personal advancement than of the good of Freemasonry in general . AVhat must most forcibly strike a newly-made mason —must be the great propriety of excluding from our discussions

all topics of a religious and political nature ; he is thus taught to treat with deference and respect the opinions of a brother even when differing widely from his own , and to give such brother credit always for good and worthy motives , though he ma himself be unable to fathom them . So that the officers of a lodge iu obeying tho bequests of the AV . M ., are only fulfilling the promises they have made by their acceptance of their

several posts , and ratifying their own selection ; and if the brethren have acted as good men and true—and not paid au empty compliment to one of their body , but have elected to the chair him whom they deem most worthy to fill it , they can scarcely do other than cheerfully acquisce in his appointments and decisions , whatever they may be within the precincts of the lodge . ThusAV . M . we are at your disposal ; aud I feel assured

, that I am only uttering the sentiments of my brother officers in saying that you may count upon our services to the utmost limit of our ability , great or small . For myself , I am so imbued with old-world notions ( and Masonry is an old-world institution ) that I shall endeavour to fulfil my duties iu a humble as well as I would in an exalted situation , consoling myself with this flattering comparison , that the lowest brick in a building

supports the whole column ; and will this further , that , whereas in operative Masonry , the lowest brick remains the lowest brick for ever , with us the lowest officer may he iu time the highest . Should I ever achieve th . it exalted position , should I ever become the recipient of a jewel such as you W . M .,, have this day conferred on twenty of our P . AI . ' .- ' , I shall not be a more sincerethough I trust I may be a more efficient mason than I

, am at this moment as your very humble I . G . In proposing the health of the newly initiated and joining brothers , Bro . G . A \ . King , P . M . said : —However unequal I may feel to doing justice to the toast entrusted to me , I must say that I feel it a great honour to be allowed to propose it .