Ceylon.

CEYLON .

ST . JOHN ' LODGE ( No . 454 , E . C . )—This lodge met at the Freemasons' Hall , Colombo , on Wednesday evening , the 21 st December , at half-past eight , for the purpose of installing the AV . M . for the ensuing year . The lodge was opened iu form in the first degree by Bro . Thompson , P . M . No . 107 , I . C ., assisted by Bros . J . L . Sim , S . \ A . ; J . Quarry , J . W . j J . Maitland , Sec ; C . G . S . Williams , S . D . ; Bischoff , J . D . ; S . Grenier , I . G . ; D . W \ AAHlliamsTlerand other brethrenmembers of the

, y ; , lodge as well as visitors , members of the Sphinx Lodge ( No . 107 , I . C . ) , and Serendib Lodge ( No . 112 , I . C . ) Bro . C . S . Hay , the AA . M . elect , was then presented to the presiding W . M . by Bros . Col . Sim , I . P . M . Sphinx Lodge ( No . 107 , I . C ) , and B . Grindrod , AA . M . of Sphinx ; and after the ancient charge had been most impressively and admirably delivered by Bro . Thompson , W . M ., the lodge was successively called up to the third degree . A

P . M . ' s lodge having been formed , Bro . C . S . Hay was admitted and duly installed W . M . The lodge having been closed down _ tc the first degree , the brethren iu attendance were re-admitted in their various degrees , and saluted the chair according to ancient authority . A candidate having been initiated into the rites and mysteries of the Entered Apprentice degree , the lodge was closed in peace , love , and harmony . The newly-installed then

AV . M . entertained a party of bis Masonic friends in the club rooms immediately beneath the lodge . SERENDIB LODGE ( NO . 112 , I . C . )—The 27 th of December is a day highly prized among Freemasons as the festival of Sfc . John the Evangelist , when the W . M . 's aud officers of lodges under the Irish Constitution are usually installed . Accordingly , a meeting of Serendib ( No . 112 , I . C . ) was convened at the Masonic Hall at

half-past six in the evening , when Bro . G . S . AVilliams was installed W . M . for tbe ensuing six months in due form by a lodge of Masters and Past Masters , composed of Bros . H . Thompson , Col . Sim , B . Grindrod , and C . S . Hay . When he had been saluted by the brethren as AV . M . he proceeded to appoint the following officers , and to invest them with their distinguishing collars and jewels : —Bros . Gorman as S . AA . ; Scriven , J . W . ; Bischoff , Sec ; Molison , S . D . ; Gillmaii , J . D . ; Gibbon , I . G . ; Smith , Tyler . SPHINX LODGE ( NO . 107 , I . C . ) . —The Sphinx Lodge met at

half-past eight on the same evening , and after the ordinary business of the lodge , Bro . C . A . Lorenz was iustalled as AV . M . with the accustomed ceremonies , and then followed the appointment aud investiture of the following officers : —Bros . J . L . Sim , S . W . ; Quarry , . J . W . ; Winzer , Sec ; Bischoff , S . D . ; Larkum , J . D . ; Kriekeuheek , I . G . ; Maitland , Dir . of Cers . ; W AVilliams , Steward . The lodge having been closed in peace , loveand harmonythe brethren of both the Colombo Lod

, , ges , with visitors to the number of forty in all , adjourned about ten o ' clock to the large room of the Masonic Club , where an excellent cold collation was served , the W . U . of the Sphinx , of course , presiding , supported on either side by the AA ' . M . 's of St . John ' s and Serendib and the P . M . 's of the Sphinx . AVhen full justice bad been done to the eatables and drinkables , the W . M . rose to propose the first toast . He said he should mention a

name which in all societies , whether Masonic or otherwiseamongst all classes and communities whatsoever , was received with enthusiasm— "The Queen ! " God bless her!—The toast was of course drur . k with all honours , Bro . C . II . Sewton leading the National Anthem in capital style . —The W . M . said there was another toast which needed nothing from him to ensure it a most cordial reception , " The Prince and Princess of Wales . " The the

— AV . M . gave "Tbe Three Grand Masters . " He said that in all ordinary political discussions it was usual to speak of the three kingdoms , now happily one , in the order of their prominence and importance—England , Ireland , and Scotland . ( Expressions of dissent from some sons of Caledonia . ) He would , however , propose advisedly the Grand Masters of Ireland , Englandand Scotlandfor theyas Irishnaturallspoke of

, , , , y their mother first . —The W .. AI . said , from the frequency with which he addressed them he feared they would consider him a . bore , but there was one toast which would assert itself in spite of all the boredom in the universe . He had to propose the health of three brethren whom he saw around him—three who had served as Masters of the Sphinx , and who , from the position they occupied in society and the kindliness and good feeling

they evinced as Masons and men would , he was sure , be very heartily received by them all . Need lie mention their names ' ? The worthy and worshipful Past Master Thompson , the founder and promoter of tbe Sphinx Lodge ; P . M . Sim , as fine and

zealous a Mason as ever sat in lodge ; and their good kind friend , Barton Grindrod , who had just vacated the chair—which nobody could regret more than he ; in short , they were all entitled to three hearty cheers . —Bro . Grindrod , P .. AL , for himself and the other P . M ' s , returned thanks . He said they had all striven their best for the lodge , and the lodge had certainly gone on and prospered ; he had no doubt , too , that under its present auspices it would still continue to do so . He had

already given an account of the lodge funds during the past half year—he would now say a word about its members . There had been eleven brethren initiated , eleven passed , ten raised , and two affiliated . At the time he took office as W . M . there were in all a hundred and nine subscribing brethren ; there had been thirteen resignations , and one death , and there were now 110 subscribing members . He remembered that old Masons had told them when starting the Shinx that

p Masonry would never succeed in Ceylon ; but they were able now to refute that assertion . He believed , indeed , that very few lodges in England could show as long a roll of members as the Sphinx . He thanked the brethren vory heartily for the way they had supported the chair during his period of office , and enjoined them to do so by their regular attendance during the time of his successor . —Bro . Col . Sim , P . M ., said he had been entrusted with a toast which he thought he miht call the toast

g of the evening ; and when he told them that it was the health of their new AV . M ., Bro . Lorenz ( cheers ) they would agree that ho was justified iu calling it so . In saying this be did not imply any invidious comparison between the lodges , but it was natural that they should first drink to the Master of the mother lodge of Ceylon . That position was one of great importance . Under his ( the W . M . ' s ) Maul were counted at least 100 disciples ; and when he left that room for the one abovethe taskbesides being

, , one of pleasure , was one also of grave responsibility . They might relieve some of their Master's care and anxiety , but he must retain great power for good . They recognised in him talents and eloquence ; from the former they anticipated much henelit to Masonry , and from the latter they looked to derive great pleasure . He ( Colonel Sim ) had no doubt that his regime would be a very successful epoch in the annals of the Sphinx . ( Cheers . )—The W . M . said he had to return thanks both for the

way in which his health had been drunk , and for the honour they had done him in placing him at the head of that lodge . He felt his nnworthiness of the position , but he was encouraged and sustained by the kindness and goodness which met him on all sides . He was accustomed both to failures and to successes , but he could say with all sincerity that no success had ever given him so much pleasure as that which placed him in the Master ' s chair , of the Sphinx Lodge . ( Hear . ) He had the

misfortune to belong to two professions in which he appeared as the enemy of mankind . As a lawyer he was ofttimes opposed to his friends , and as a member of the Fourth Estate , his hand was against every man and every man's hand against him ; but nevertheless they had shown that whatever his profession , he had been able to secure their kindly regard and confidence as a Mason , and he assured them that he very cordially reciprocated the feeling . —Bro . Thompson ,

P . M ., said he had to propose a toast which might stand entirely upon its own intrinsic merits— " The Health of Bro . Hay , the new Master of St . John ' s Lodge . " He need not expatiate on the qualities which rendered Bi-o . Hay eminently fitted for that position ; the "hero of his tale" was so well known that he would rather leave that point untouched . He might add , however , that the Kandy Lodge was a difficult one to rule , requiring much tact and discrimination in its Master ; but he

could not doubt that whilst Bro . Hay was in the chair , all would go well in Kandy . ( Hear , hear ) . —The \ A . M . of St . John's , in returning thanks , called attention to the fact that bis was the oldest lodge in the island , that it had been established in 1 S 3 S , and had struggled on through times when Masons were very few and far between in Ceylon ; but it had lived to see the day when almost every one was pressing forward to pierce the mysterious veil which covered their rites and ceremonies , in

the appointed way . He compared himself to the young King of Greece , in having left his own kingdom and come to another to be crowned ; referred to the establishment and progress of tho Sphinx under the auspices of Bro . Thomson , and concluded by proposing " The Health of Bro . AVilliams , " the new AA . M . of Serendib , which , as an offshoot of the Sphinx Lodge , he did not doubt would be successful . —The AV . M . of the Serendib Lodge returned thanks , and explained that but for the extremely Masonic conduct of