Provincial.

Esq ., Richard Rood , Esq . Near tho Vice-Clmirman sat P . W . gwain , Esq .. James Joll , Esq ., H . T . Smith , Esq ., A . Norman , Esq ., R . B . Oram , Esq ., G . Dansey , Esq ., \ V . Reed , Esq ., I . Latimer , Esq ., W . P . Swain , Esq ., T . Hingston Harvey , Esq . Tlio assembly included also—Mr . Josepli Arnold , Mr . Edwin Arnold , Mr . Frederick Arnold , Mr . James Mackay , Mr . John Mackay , Mr . Dupree , Mr . Pinsent , Mr . Bateman , Mr . Watson ( Totnes ) , Mr . Heath ( Totnes ) , Mr . Finemore , Mr . Clase , Mr . Annis , Mr . J . P . Chubb , Mr . Greenwood , & c . The brethren dined in costume , and more than one half of those present ivere Freemasons .

The CHAIRMAN , m giving the toast of "the Queen , " said he was certain it required no eloquence to induce any body of Englishmen to drink that toast with every mark of cordiality . Of all the gems in the British Crown , none shone with a brighter lustre than charity , for tbe hand of her Majesty was always open to relieve tlie wants of the distressed . He felt assured it would meet with a ready response , and would ask them to drink it with all the honours . ( Loud cheers . )

The CHAIRSIAN , in proposing the " Prince of Wales and the "Royal Family , " expressed his deep regret , which he believed was shared by every member of that assembly , that death had deprived them of the privilege of coupling the name of the late Prince Consort with that toast . He paid a warm ancl generous tribute to the memory ot that illustrious man , feeling tbat there was no one now , whatever differences of opinion might have

existed during the Prince ' s lifetime , who did not appreciate his value , and recognise the vacuum ivhich his removal had occasioned . He hoped the Prince of Wales , when he should be called npon to ascend the throne ( an event which he trusted was far distant ) , ivould reap the fruits of those wise principles on which his education had been founded , and that he would : lo honour to Ms progenitors in every respect . ( Applause . )

The CHAIRMAN next proposed " The Army , Navy , ancl Volunteers . " Col . MILJIAN responded for the army , in the absence of Major-General Hutchinson , who , had he not been called upon to attend a volunteer review at Bristol , would have been present . Com . BIDDLECOMBE , in returning thanks for the navy , reviewed the rapid progress of improvement in our vessels of war ;

but doubted not that , when necessai' 3 1 , officers and men would be as ready to do their duty as in days of yore . ( Hear , hear . ) Bro . Major DENNIS MOORE ( 1 st Exeter ancl South Devon Rifle Corps ) as the senior officer in age , although not in rank , present , responded on behalf of the volunteers . V . W . Bro . L . P . TRIPE , P . M ., P . Prov . G . S . D ., next came -forward , and , amidst frequent applause , spoke as follows : —In obedience to ancient custom , on occasions like the present , the

duty devolves on me of delivering an address on the merits of our Order . Were I as able as I am willing to perform the task , hut short time would be necessary to excite in tlie minds of all present the deep conviction which animates my own , that Freemasonry not only tends to the advantage of those who are within its pale , but that it is calculated to confer the greatest benefits on humanity at large . The origin of Masonry is lost in the mist of distant agesbut that it existed as far back as

, history or tradition extend , not as the practice of one country , one hemisphere , or one sect , hut pervading every nation , language and creed , is undoubted . That it has flourished , defying calumny , ridicule and even persecution , outliving every other system of philosophy , and all other human institutions coeval with itself , is a proof that its vitality is peculiar and deeply

rooted , it was practised by the astronomers and soothsayers ot Chaldea , by the priests and kings of mystic Egypt , by the Brahmins of India , and by the philosophers of Greece , and it had reached its meridian glory 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 . We have the authority of the credible Roman historians for saying that when Julian the Apostrate cleared away the ruins of this same

temple 1800 years after , the vaulted chamber was discovered in which our ancient brethren had met , with its most sacred and most secret symbols perfect and undisturbed . These symbols ¦ are to be traced on the implements of ancient nations widely distant from each other ; on the pyramids of Egpyt , the caves of Elephanta , the ruined temples of classsic Greece , the mysterious round towers of Ireland , the courts of tlie Alhambra , and on the Avails of our own sublime cathedrals . Whence , then , this universal presence and permanence ? Because its foundations rest not . on the mutual and perishable . circumstances of external nature , but on circumstances

Provincial.

which spring from and appeal to the best affections' of of human nature , and on the purest principles of Dietv and virtue . In our lodges the volume of the Sacred jLaivis never closed ; from its pages we are taught our duty to God , our neighbour , and ourselves . We are taught to look up ty God as the one great cause of all , to implore his aid on all onr lawful undertakings , and to bend with resignation to his divine will . We are taught to regard the ivhole human race as children

of one common parent , whom we are to treat with justice , relieve in distress , and comfort in sorrow . For ourselves , ive are taught prudence , temperance , and justice . As citizens of the world , we are commanded to be loyal and peaceful , our motto being , " Fear

Gocl , honour the Queen ! " Under every emblem used in our lodges lie solemn and important truths , tending to mend the morals , improve the understanding , raise the mind to Gocl , and bind the human race more closely together . The implements of labour so skilfully used by our noble brother—the square , the level , and the plumb-rule—convey to us lessons of almost sacred teaching as to the use we are to make upon earth of the talents committed to our keeping by the Grand Architect of the Universe ,

ancl of the account we must render of their use when summoned to his presence in the Grand Lodge above . In the first degree , the newly initiated brother is reminded , in language beautiful and affecting , that as he entered the world naked and helpless , dependent on the love of others for nourishment and warmth , and even for life itself , so should he extend the hand of charity to every one of his fellow-creatures in the hour of their need . In the secondhe is exhorted to contemplate nature and science

, , to cultivate ancl use his intellectual powers to the glory of God and the welfare of his fellow-creatures . In the third , in language solemn and sublime , he is told that death is the end of all , but that after death there is another and an undying life , and that he will bo best prepared to exchange the one for the other n ho has squared his life by the principles of moral truth and justice ; and that be who has Avell performed his allotted task while it is yet day , may trample the King of Terrors under

his feet , and calmly raise his eyes to that bright morning star whose rising shall bring peace ancl salvation to the faithful ancl obedient of the human race . In accordance with these principles , the brotherhood are here to-day to perform a

time-honoured duty , not simply to court the gaze of the sight-seer as part of a pageant . Our coming is significant of our desire and obligation as Masons to aid in every good work tending to relieve the distress and affliction of the human race . May a blessing from the Grand Geometrician of the universe rest this clay on the labours of those whose charity has conceived this work of benevolence , of those Avhose intellect has devised , and on the skilled labour Avhich shall execute the plan ! May

the corn , the oil , the AA'ine , and salt , be typical of the ever increasing success of this noble hospital ; and when ive AVIIO are here to-day have long been removed from the scene of our earthly labours , may charity still give abundantly for its support ! May she , the greatest of the cardinal virtues , within these walls long continue to pour oil and wine into the wounds of the afflicted ! and may the salt be a prophetic emblem of its stabilit

y and of wisdom to guide its counsels ! To Freemasons are due the preservation of many of the arts and sciences , especially tbe noble science of architecture : for in those dark ages when might made right , when the lamp of science burned dim , and was in hourly danger of being extinguished for ever , by . lawless violence , Freemasons watched over the feeble ray , ancl , sustained by that felicitous combination of love of art and the most

sublime truths of religion and morality which Freemasonry taught them—its existence known only to a few , and its secrets handed clown by oral tradition through successive generations of trusty masters—watched over and fanned the feeble ray until it expanded into a flame , and shewed its fruits by the creation of those miracles of art which still astonish , instruct and delight the ivorld . That Freemasonry has bound men together more closely than any other human institution is patent

to the world . In those dark ages of which I have just spoken , Freemasonry not only protectee ! those who were within its pale , but threw its shield , like its off-shoot chivalry in after ages , over tlie suffering and oppressed . And iu our own fortunate generation it has cemented friendships , restored the credit of the bankrupt merchant , succoured the shipwrecked ancl the exile , fed the hungry , clothed the naked , cared for the widoivand orphan , set the prisoner free , and even arrested the uplifted steel thirsting for the foeman ' s blood . It has an universal language , understood by the fraternity in every part of the world , and an universal fund , to which the distressed and deserving