Provincial Lodges.

sympathy for Ireland , when visiting that country recently , by becoming a Governor of her Masonic Schools . Br . Masson , P . G . S . B ., acknowledged the toast on behalf of Scotland , and remarked that he had the happiness and delight of first seeing the light of Masonry in 1812 , and on every return to his native land he found Masonry on the increase , and its benefits extending —( Cheers ) . Br . Sadler , the Mayor , proposed " the Army and Navy , " and , after eulogising ,

in eloquent terms , the bravery of our troops and allies in the present war , adverted to the noble conduct of Miss Nightingale and the other ladies , who had forsaken their homes and country , in the true spirit of Masonry , to succour the distressed and alleviate the sufferings of the wounded—( Much cheering ) . Br . Colonel Vernon , of the Coldstream Guards , thanked the brethren for the compliment which they had paid to that profession to which he had the pride and honour to belong ; and , after adverting to the wonderful endurance which their armies had

evinced , and wliich had enabled them to overcome difficulties more trying than actual warfare , assured them that their best reward was the approbation and consideration of their countrymen ; and it was a common remark with them , and doubtless operated as a stimulus , " what will they think of us in England ? " —( Loud cheers ) . Br . Spiers , D . P . G . M ., proposed the health of the P . G . M . Br . Bowyer , and , after alluding to his high qualifications for the office of P . G . M ., said that no appointment could have been more grateful to the feelings of all in the Province , where he was so

much esteemed , and that the attendance of . so many distinguished Masons from various parts of England , as well as from abroad , afforded the best testimony that his merits were appreciated by the Masonic body generally —( Much cheering ) . The P . G . M ., in returning thanks , assured the brethren that it would be his earnest desire to promote the interests of the Craft , and to show that he w as not unmindful of the responsibility , or insensible of the honour , of that high position which the G . M . had been pleased to confer upon him , au honour which he valued the more , because he had reason to believe , from the kindness which he had always received at

their hands , that the appointment was one which was approved of by the whole Province . He was devotedly attached to Masonry , and looked back with pride and pleasure to that hour when he first joined its ranks —( Loud cheers ) . He then proposed the healths of his distinguished visitors , "thevarious P . G . Officers , who had done him the honour to attend on this occasion , and more especially the P . G . M . of Cambridgeshire , " who had performed the ceremony of Installation with so much zeal , kindness , and ability—( Much cheering ) .

Br . Hall , P . G . M . of Cambridgeshire , responded to the toast , and adverted to the fact that he presided over a Province in which the Sister University was situated , and that tended to make him feel deeper interest in the Masonic progress in Oxford . He stated that he had enjoyed the friendship of their lamented P . G . M ., Br . Ridley , than whom a more estimable man , or better Mason , he had never met . He congratulated them on the appointment of so worthy a successor , and as Masonry was an accomlished fact in Oxfordthere was every prospect thatunder his auspicesit would

p , , , long continue to occupy its present proud position . Where could it be expected to flourish more than here and in the Sister University , where they were surrounded by the noblest records of Masonry , anel where the pursuits tended to humanize the disposition , anel to lighten the understanding ?—( Cheers ) . The toast was also responded to by the P . G . Masters of AA orcestershire , Staffordshire , Australia , and Bengal . Br . Rev . G . R . Portal proposed " The Mayor , and prosperity to the city of

Oxford , " and expressed his conviction that the increasing unity between the University and City had been , in a great measure , owing to the fact that for the last four years the civic chair had been filled by Masons —( Cheers ) . Br . Sadler returned thanks in an eloquent address , in the course of which he stated , that after forty years' experience , ho could truly say that there was no institution more entitled to the esteem and affection of every true Christian and loyal subject than Freemasonry ; for it inculcated reverence to the Great Architect of the Universe , loyalty to the Sovereign , obedience to the laws , attachment to the institutions of the