Masonic Libraries.

member of the Masonic Order who in his heart believes that the carrying out of the project herein set forth would be conducive to future prosperity , and to a higher appreciation , of the society he professes to support , is called upon to afford his countenance and aid to the furtherance of such desirable

objects . Let the experiment be ventured upon ; no harm can possibly ensue , and a very great deal of good will not be an unlikely result . Colonial Masons are deeply interested in this matter , more so , perhaps , than any other class of the Order , distance and expense precluding them from the advantages which are at the disposal of a majority of the brethren in the

mother country , who , if ever so unfavourabl y located for the enjoyment of Masonic instruction , can obtain it by proceeding to the metropolis ; not that such is the general practice , provincial Masons are fer too content wifch the limited supply to be extracted in . the vicinage of their dwellings to undergo the exertion of a metropolitan course of study . But still , to

the aspiring , this mode of acquiring information is practicable and plainly marked out . Colonial brethren are very differently situated , and , unless by means of books chosen at haphazard , enjoy but few opportunities of perfecting themselves in a knowledge of can- traditions by attentive study . Next to total ignorance , an undirected course of reading is the

most pernicious , it being almost more difficult to eradicate erroneous impressions than to instil truthful ones in a mind that has lain fallow . A Mason of repute , Bro . E . Binckes , has elsewhere advocated the establishment of a general Masonic library , and—if memory can be depended upon in the absence of the reported

speech of our distinguished and able brother , which is unfortunately not at hand—he adduced in support of his proposition very excellent aud convincing evidence of its probable utility . To Bro . Binckes , who , in a recent controversy ivith tho editor of the Freemasons Magazine has evinced reasoning powers of a high order ; indeed , the sli ght differences of- two such- staunch upholders of tho Craft , have evoked , to all appearance , a mutual feeling of

respect" . that stern joy which warriors feel In foemen ivorthy of their steel , " —to Bro . Binckes is clue our thanks for having mooted the subject ; aud should he be inclined to undertake the trouble and responsibility of preparing and submitting to the Grancl Lodge , for its countenance and advocacy , a scheme for the general establishment of Masonic libraries , there will be none to aver that so important a trust could be reposed in a more capable person . III .

Ancient British History.

ANCIENT BRITISH HISTORY .

THE following admirable lecture , which , from the research displayed and the soundness of the arguments broivdit forward , cannot fail to excite deep interest , is well deserving the careful attention of our readers . It is from the pen of Bro . CTKOKOK H . 'WHAU . KY- , ALP . for Peterborough , and was delivered by him afc the London Mechanics' Institute , on

Monday , tho oth instant , to a crowded audience . . 1 sit . iLi . not detain you by apologies for my deficiencies as a lecturer . The literary tastes of the members of . this institution could doubtless enable them to find more instruction or amusement from the resources within their daily command than I can firing to their service ; and the only compensation is to give to the of literature which I lay before sonic practical

scrap you amplications to matters of daily interest and importance to every une . "When . Franklin by a simple contrivance brought down the lightning from the clouds , and commenced for us that practical process of putting a ? " it were upon the elements that harness which has made them servants to mankind , he was engaged iu a somewhat similar to that ivhich I would endeavour to imitate

process in reference to our early British history . History , it is said , is philosophy teaching by example : that , is to say , that from the vicissitudes which the story of every nation or collection of people present for our examination , we should frame such rules for liifiire government as shall fend to averf (

liedisasters and to repeat the triumphs and prosperity of the past ; anil the historian who is equal to his task , performs the same office for the guidance of the statesman that the scientific chemist performs for the practising physician ; and , as every man iu England is called upon to act the part , or to control and direct the duties of national government and statesmanship , no subject I . submit , to can he more appropriateeither for amusement or

instrucyou , tion , than the history of our own country . The portion of British liistory to which I call your attention under the name of "Early British History , " I shall limit by the Norman conquest ; and I venture to assert that there is no instance on record of any nation or people having been deprived ( by their course of scholastic and literary teaching ) of that national credit which is justly their due from the historic achievements of their "

ancestry—to the same extent as our own . The school books out of which children arc taught English history generally dispose of this early period in two or three pages : the substance of which is—that the Romans having discovered this island about the commencement of the Christian era , occupied it for about four hundred years , ancl having made roads , worked minesbuilt villusand thus to some extent civilized the

, , inhabitants , the Saxons came over , and for about another four hundred years not only occupied the country , but organized codes of laws , and originated various institutions to which wo arc to this day taught to look up with pride and reverence , as having enabled us " to withstand the shock , and finally to throw oil" the burdens

imposed hy the Isormait conquest . ' Now , before I tell you some truths of this matter , which I have no doubt will be to many of my hearers novel aud unexpected , I wish you to understand that I am not speaking to you as a "Welshman ; nor am I about to claim for the ancient Britons one iota of honour or credit that docs not attach to the English nation . "We are still emphatically the British nation , and ever have been

so—iu blood , race , ancl language—subject to such modifications as have resulted from the influx of strangers to our shores . I shall not to-nigh £ have time to show you that our English language , though so different in sound from the ancient British , which is still spoken in AVales in its original purity , is , as to at least three parts out of four of the words iu the most ordinary Use , based upon the British — that the laws , customs , ancl institutions ,

which we revere for their antiquity , aud whicli arc commonly attributed to Saxon origin , were as fresh and influential a thousand years before the Saxons were heard of as at this clay ; and , as to the question of race and origin , it would be almost as reasonable to call us Italians , Dutchmen , or Frenchmen , as Saxons : for it is an undoubted fact that the admixture of Saxons , and subsequently of Normansin our British populationhas exercised far less

, , influence on the population than that which has been since effected by the continuous pacific immigration of foreigners . Tlie difference , in fact , between the "Welsh and the modern English , is this : occupying in common with Cornish men cm the south , and Cumbrians on the north , that portion of our island least exposed either to pacific or warlike incursions , they have , in . those rugged retreats of "Wales and the western countrypreservedwith

extra-, , ordinary purity and devotion , the ancient language and traditions ofthe entire island . And , speaking as an Englishman , I shall he borne out by facts , when I state , that for us to turn our backs upon , or to be indifferent to the . history of our British ancestors , ivould be to deprive ourselves , as a nation , ofthe strongest claims wc possess to that preeminent position which , as a nation , wc hold iu the face of the world .

Assuming then that- we . as 1-aiglishmen , are by race and otherwise entitled to sympathize and take an interest in British historyas distinguished from that ivhich recounts the adventures of such Romans , Saxons , Normans or other foreigners , as in comparatively later times have contributed to make up the English character—let us proceed to compare a few of the tacts of that history with the sketch ivhich I first gave you from our current

school books . Passing over the earlier traditions of the country , the first historical fact to which I will draw your attention is the colony brought to this country by Brutus , the grandson of -Eneas , one of the heroes of the siege of Troy , and the progenitor of the Roman people . This was about one thousand years before the Christian era ; and , as distinguished from the subsequent invasion in ofth

ofltomans , Saxons , Danes , or Normans , was every sense e word pacific . 'The city of Troy was the great centre of the "Druidic relig ion in thcV . ist , as this island was of the west ; and , therefore , upon the destruction of Troy by the Greeks , the 'Trojans naturally sought a refuge in the island of the west ; and Brutus , the leader of the Trojan hosts , was elected king of the island , ivhich thenceforth became known by his name—Brutus '; -