India.

The following resolutions were passed : — " That , with regard to the failure of Chapter St . John the Baptist , at Mussoorie , to furnish any returns for a considerable period , an explanation be called for from the chapter , and notice given to it that , in the absence of any satisfactory explanation from it within two months after the date of such notice , its charter will be recalled . "

" That fifty copies of the new edition of the Regulations of the Supreme Grand Chapter be obtained from England at the risk of the District Grand Chapter , and sold to such chapters or individual Masons as may be desirous of possessing a copy . " " That , with reference to the heavy expenses which have recently been borne by the District Grand Lodge Fund in lighting the Freemasons' Hall with gas , & c , the sum of five hundred rupees be transferred to that fund from the fund of the District

Grand Chapter . " The Grand Superintendent appointed the following officers for the ensuing twelve months , and took the opportunity to pass a eulogium on M . E . Comp . J . AV . Brown , who was about to pass out of the chair of Provincial Grand Principal II . : — Comp . J . B . Knight Prov . G . P . H . „ J . II . Linton „ G . P . J .

„ W . H . Hoff „ G . Scribe E . „ C . K . Dove „ G . Scribe N . „ T . Bruce Lane , G . Principal Soj . „ F . Powell „ G . 1 st . Assist . Soj . „ AV . G . Baxter „ G . 2 nd Assist . Soj . „ I . L . Taylor „ G . Registrar . „ G . Chisholm „ G . Standard Bearer . „ G . M . Ogilvie „ G . Dir . of Cers .

„ T . Riseley „ G . Org . „ D . J . Daniel „ G . J . E . Comp . T . Dickson was re-elected Prov . G . Treasurer . At the banquet table , the Grand Superintendent , besides the usual toasts , proposed the health of M . E . Comp . J . W . Brown , with reference to his retirement from the office of Second . Grand Principal . The Grand Superintendent felt sure that Comp . Brownhaving attained hih past rankwould not rest

, g , upon his oai-3 , but would still be found in the energetic discharge of Masonic duties . Comp . Brown had that very evening performed au important service , having as it were given the means of existence to Royal Arch Masonry in Colombo . Comp . Rains , an elected Principal , had arrived in Calcutta from Ceylon , chiefly for the purpose of getting himself installed ; for without installation , it would not be in his power to open and work the

chapter at Colombo . To enable that companion to gain his object , the Grand Superintendent had directed the Grand Scribe to apply for aid to Comp . Brown , Principal Z . of Chapter Hope . The Grand Superintendent had felt quite certain , when the letter was dispatched , that the installation of Comp . Rains had been secured ; such was the dependence he ( the Grand Superintendent ) had on Comp . Brown ' s zeal . Although the notice had been very short , Comp . Brown had succeeded in getting the aid of a sufficient number of Principals , and had that evening inducted Comp . Rains in the chair of Principal Z .

Comp . Brown acknowledged the compliment which had been paid to him , and stated , with reference to the special service alluded to by the Grand Superintendent , that he was indebted to the activity of the Scribe of his chapter ( Comp , Chisholm ) for the meeting which had been convened for the induction of Comp . Rains . Comp . Brown had been l ying ill in bed when Comp . Iloff ' s letter had reached him , and ho had consequently been obliged to get his wife to act as amanuensisand to

des-, patch instructions to the Scribe of his chapter , who , on receiving them , had instantly exerted himself to carry them into execution . It was satisfactory to him ( Comp . Brown ) to find that office in the District Grand Chapter had been conferred on Comp . Chisholm . The Grand Superintendent then proposod the health of Comp . Rains as a visitor . That companion belonged to tbe

Constitution of Ireland , and he had received a hearty welcome , in Calcutta , from companions owing allegiance to the Supreme Grand Chapter of England ; so that it must be evident to him that , whatever estrangement might occasionally arise between lodges and chapters of very different jurisdictions in the same province , the mere circumstance of a Mason belonging to a different constitution never prevented his receiving a fraternal

greeting all the world over . Comp . Rains , in acknowledging the toast , offered some very interesting remarks regarding the small beginnings of Masonry in Colombo , and its recent progress , and gave great credit to

India.

Col . Maydwell , whose name was pretty well known in the Craft , He concurred with the Grand Superintendent in the opinion that the existence of different jurisdictions in one province only led to collisions , and regretted that the principle which prevented the establishment of English lodges in Scotland and Ireland , of Scotch lodges in England and Ireland , and of Irish lodges in England and Scotland was not observed in the colonies . The Grand Superintendent and three or four others passed an hour or two very pleasantly after the final toast had been given .

Bahamas.

BAHAMAS .

NASSAU , NEW PROA ^ IDENCE . The Festival of St . John the Evangelist , December 27 th , 1864 , was celebrated here with full Masonic honours . A grand procession was formed of the members under the Grand Lodge of Scotland ( the Prov . G . M . under the English Constitution not allowing any of his brethren to appear in the procession clothed in the badges of the Order ) , and , accompanied by the band of

the 1 st AV . I . Regiment playing the Masonic March , they proceeded to the Cathedral of Nassau , upon arriving at which the organ pealed forth a noble strain as the brethren inarched into the aisles . A large assembly attended . The prayers were read for St . John's Day , and a sermon preached by the Rev . Mr . Swann , the text being taken from Luke x ., part of the 25 th verse . The reverend gentleman , not being a Mason , and , in fact , altogether misunderstanding its principlesdelivered a sermon

, full of matters irrelevant to the occasion , and so utterly distasteful to many of the brethren present , that it has given rise to a correspondence in the Bahama Herald , which we append . On the return of the procession to the Masonic Hall , the proceedings under the Grand Lodge of England commenced by the Royal A ictoria Lodge installing the AV . M . for the ensuing year , the charge being read by Bro . Spry . The banquet was held at

six p . m . in the Provincial Buildings ( kindly granted by tbe Governor ) . The usual loyal and Masonic toasts were given and duly honoured , and the proceedings wound up in the most harmonious manner . The following is the letter alluded to above : — " To the Hditor of the Bahama Herald . "Nassau , N . P ., December , 1864 .

"SIB , —Being one of the visitors present on Tuesday morning last ( the Anniversary of St . John the Evangelist ) at the Cathedral on the occasion of the Masonic visitation there , I feel called upon to make a few remarks , lest some strangers present might form a wrong idea of what Freemasonry is , from some uncalled-for remarks which fell from the reverend gentleman who preached the sermon for the occasion . " AVe must travel a very long way back to the distant ages

to find the origin of Masonry , and , even then , we find a difficulty in tracing its birth . That it has , however , flourished , defying calumny , ridicule , and persecution , was a proof that its vitality was peculiar and deeply rooted . It was practised by tbo astronomers and soothsayers of Chaldea , by the priests and . kings of ancient Egypt , by the Brahmins of India , and by the hilosophers of Greeceand it had reached its meridian glory

p , when Solomon , with the aid of his brethren of the Craft , laid the foundation-stone of the Temple which he was about to erect to the honour of God . Its symbols are even to be traced on the works of ancient nations , widely distant from each other , on the pyramids of Egypt , the caves of Elaphanta , the mystic temples of classic Greece , the mysterious round towers of Iceland , the courts of the Alhamhi-a , and on the walls of all

our principal cathedrals . AAlience , then , this universal presence and permanence ? Because its foundations rested , not on the changing and perishable circumstances of external nature , but on circumstances springing from , and appealing to , the best affections of human nature and on the purest principles of piety and virtue . "In our lodges , the volume of the Sacred Law is never closed , —from its we are taught our duty to Godour

neihpages , g bour , and ourselves . AA e are taught to extend charity and benevolence without regard to sect , colour , or creed , and to look up to God as the one great cause of all , to implore His aid in all our lawful undertakings , and to bend with resignation to His divine will . The charities connected with this world wide institution consist of the Orphan Schools and Asylum for the Aged , & c . To the Lancashire distress fund large subscriptions