Provincial Lodges.

did not actually know how to express his opinions connected therewith . It was the health of the respected and esteemed G . M ., of the province —( great applause ) . He had fondly hoped to have seen him in the G . L . that day , but he was suffering very severely from deafness ; and this fact , together with the fact of his own health and that of some members of his family , no doubt , prevented his attendance—( hear ) . Any one at all acquainted with Br . Starkie could not fail to love him , because a more amiable or more charitable man did not exist ; and besides that , he was one of the most perfect

goodnatured men upon earth —( applause ) . His urbanity and hospitality had rendered Huntroyd proverbial ; and he always appeared delighted to see a Freemason , and to render him all the assistance in his power . The health of the M . W . P . G . M . was drank with great enthusiasim . Part Song— " The happiest land . " The Chairman , after having passed a high and deserved eulogy on the two Noblemen , one for his attainments as a warrior , and the other in literature , proposed the healths of Lord Combermere and the Earl of Ellesmere , the P . G . M ' s . of Cheshire and East Lancashire .

Song by Br . Armstrong . . Br . S . Moss , P . P . J . G . W . of Gloucestershire and Cheshire , responded to the toast , and in the course of Iris observations said , he considered that the prosperity of Masonry in Cheshire was mainly owing to the exertions of Lord Combermere , and the patronage bestowed on the Craft by his noble lady —( applause ) . Br . Eckersley , as the oldest P . G . officer present , in complimentary terms proposed the health of the R . W . D . P . G . M ., observing that Masonry had prospered more under his auspices in the province than during the past 20 years —( musical honours ) . Glee— " Prosper the Art . "

The Chairman responded , and concluded with proposing the health of the P . G . Chaplain . Song by Br . George . Br . Mocatta , P . G . C ., responded . He could truly say that from his acquaintance with Masonry , which was now about 12 months , he conceived it to be identical with the religion he professed . He thanked the P . G . M . for the honour conferred upon him in the appointment , an honour which he should highly estimate to the last day of

his life . As had been already stated , he was the son of a Mason , and though lie perhaps ought not to make the assertion , yet he would take the liberty of asserting , that a better man never lived than the man from whom he had the honour to spring—( cheers ) . In thanking them for the honour conferred upon him , he trusted he should be able to perform his duties to the well being of the Craft and the satisfaction of his brethren —( applause ) . The Chairman saidthe toasts hitherto had been chiefly of a complimentary

descri-, p tion . The next , however , was of a more practical utility , inasmuch as it was "The West Lancashire Masonic Institution for the Education and Advancement in Life of Children of Distressed Masons . " The work which they had been engaged iu for several years had been of a very arduous description , and if a number of the brethren had not put their shoulders to the wheel it woidd not have got to the advanced state in which they now found it —( applause ) . Among those brethren there had been one most prominently usefuland if not irregularhe wished to couple the name of that

, , brother with the toast—the name of Br . Banning —( loud cheers ) . In framing the bye-laws , and other matters connected with the institution , Br . Banning had brought his great legal knowledge to bear , and had been of very valuable" assistance—( cheers ) . The toast was drunk with Masonic honours .

Quintette— " Blessed be the Hour . Br . Banning , on rising to respond , was received with loud cheers . He felt great hesitation in responding to the toast , inasmuch as he thought there were other brethren whose names were as deserving of being coupled with the toast as his own . Without the aid of Br . Collins and Br . Gamble , they would have been unable to do as much as they had done—( cheers ) . With respect to the Institution itself , it would , he had no doubt , be found the means of bringing Masonry into better repute out of doors , than it had been for some time past . He was sure all Masons must have felt that there had been a want of exertion in the cause of charity , and he