Scotland.

evening . For a long period of years he filled the office ( that the suffrages of the Glasgow Masons have now conferred on me ) in a manner that won for him the esteem and affection of those with whom he came in contact in Masonic matters , and also that of all the citizens of this great city that is so appropriately called the Matropolis of the AVest . It is a hard task for ' anyone to live always in the full daylight of popular opinion ,

and I ask you whether that task is not much more difficult when one has to follow a gentleman such as the one I have alluded to , and whose loss we all deplore . In the contest for the high office rendered vacant by his death , it was my lot to have as an opponent a gentleman who . is well known to all of you , and whose character and literary attainments ( much higher than I can hope to rival ) were such as to make the conflict a keen and exciting onebut one in which I am glad to say all personal

, feeling was absent , and in regard to which I believe we can all look back without bitterness or anger . It was a cause of regret to myself that his official duties prevented his accepting the highest office it was in the power of the Provincial Grand Lodge to confer , and whicli I am sure he would have filled in a manner that would have made us indebted to him in no small degree . The object of our meeting here to-night is to assist Freemasonry in one way or anotheraud it may be interesting

, to some of you to know something of the origin of the Masonic body and of its subsequent history . Freemasonry is an ancient and respectable institution , embracing men of every nation tinder the sun , of every religion , and of all conditions of life , one in which all religious and political sentiments are forgotten , us well as all the small differences and quarrels which disturbso much the peace and quiet of our every-day life . In it our object is to make , as far as we can , all our brethren happy ; to

forget the social distinctions that are in some cases made too much of in the outside world , and to remind ourselves that we are all sprung from a common origin , have the same nature , and are destined for the same end . This society , founded on all the highest principles of religion , had great power in days gone by ; and , without going into times beyond the Christian era , where it is clearly distinguishable in the Eleusinian mysteries and the rites of Ceres , I will endeavour shortly to give you some account of it since that time . We i

find it in great vigour under tbe pontiffs of Rome , who conferred on this Fraternity the most important privileges in those early times , allowing them to be governed by laws , customs , and ceremonies peculiar to themselves ; and to this Fraternity we are indebted for the splendid monasteries and cathedrals of Europe and of our own country . The cathedral of this city , of which we are so justly proud , has many of the stones used in its structure marked with signs and symbols that prove it to have

been built by Freemasons . In fact , we find that all artificers who were not members of the Fraternity were debarred from building anything that the Freemasons had a right to , and which , we have reason to believe , was the entire church architecture of that time . But as all secret associations are a terror to either temporal or spiritual tyranny , the principles of Freemasonry came in collision with the principles that actuated the Church of Rome , that great and at that time almost omnipotent

power , as soon as they had made use of the Fraternity for thenown purposes ( and when the demand for religious structures was less urgent ) persecuted the men whom they hacl themselves encouraged , ancl endeavoured to stamp out both them and the Society to which they belonged . Strange as it may seem , that country which at that time was so completely under the power of the Church of Rome became the centre from whicli the pure principles of the Order again issued to the entire world . It is

impossible to ascertain why this was so , unless the Scotch were cleverer in eluding the suspicion of their enemies , or perhaps did not make use ofthe Craft for political purposes , as was often done on the Continent , and were in consequence less molested . It is a well known fact that Masonry flourishes in times of peace , and dies away in times of great excitement ; and perhaps the wars of the Middle Ages which shook Europe to its very foundations were the cause of the Society of Architects taking up their abode in what

was then a small village on the Western Coast of Scotland , called Kilwinning , the lodge of which now holds the proud title of the Mother Lodge of Scotland . From that time until the present the Fraternity has gone through many changes—at one time being under the immediate patronage of the sovereign , and at otter times being neglected by them . But from these changes , to whicli all mortal societie ' s are subject , it has come forth with all its old beauties still around ic ; and it lies with ourselves either to raise it bv our

exertions to still greater repute and honour and affluence , or to let it drop fron its high position . The oration of the Prov . G . M- was received with marked approbation . A concert programme was then entered upon , the artistes engaged being Madame Garcia , the Misses Blair , Signor Garcia , Mr . Alexander , Mr . Houston , comic vocalist ; Mr . Emile Berger , pianist , and Mr . Lambeth , organist . At the close of the first

portion of the concert , and while the audience were discussing a service of fruit , Bro . Inglis , Substitute Grand Master , said : Ladies and Gentlemen . —Permit me to ask you one

question" What signifies the life o' man , An' 'tiverna' for the lasses , O ? " I need not tell the Masons' wives and bairns , the Masons' sweethearts and sisters here assembled , that Masons are but men ; and good husbands and fathers , and good lovers and brothers I trust they have found them to be . But this I will tell you that a good Mason is seldom a bad man ; and this much of the secrets of will fearlessl

Masons I y unfold—that universal love and charity is their shibboleth , inculcated at their initiation repeated in their various assemblies , and , so not unapt to take a firmer root in their minds , and to exercise a more powerful guidance over their actions , than can exist iu the case of those who do not possess this additional incentive to walk in the paths of morality and of virtue . When I speak of love and charity as being the shibboleths of our CraftI speak of love and

, charity in their most extended forms . I give no credit to a Mason for loving his wife and child , his sweetheart or his sister . In this he is merely obeying the instincts of his nature . I give no credit to a Mason for occasional charity in the shape of alms to tbe poor . In this , too , he is merely complying with the promptings of that good feeling which is happily implanted in the hearts of most human beings . No ; there is a love and there is a charity extending far beyond even these laudable

exhibitions . There is a charity which coverefch the multitude of our sins , that forgives its enemies , that returns good for evil that swerves not from rectitude and justice ; and there is the love whereby a man loves his neighbour as himself , and which mingles even with his reverence for his God . There is no Mason here present who is not aware that the principles of his

Craft do perpetually urge him towards those noble duties , or who ever leaves his lodge without a more settled determination towards fulfilling them . Now , ladies ancl gentlemen , although I have spoken of the higher degrees of iove and charity , I do not by any means intend to undervalue the lower degrees . The brotherly affection with which Masons regard each other , and the benevolent charitable institutions which exist among them , go far towards raising their love and charitto the hi

y gher degrees , and are in themselves things most admirable and useful and humanising . I see that our brethren of the United States have set us an example which may possibly be worthy of our consideration , and have begun to confer upon the female relatives of the brethren a degree of adoption , which entitles them to relief in cases of destitution , without the necessity of their . producing the dilomas of their departed relations . This degree of adoption

p they call the degree of the " Eastern Star ; " but judging from the firmament whicli adorns this hall this evening , unci should this degree of female adoption ever chance to be used in this city , I should say that its denomination here should more properly be termed " the degree of the Western Star . " But , ladies and gentlemen , the mention of this female degree reminds me that I have perhaps detained you too long with graver matters—that I have detained you too long from the enjoyment

of music and of song . I congratulate you from my heart ou the occasion of this happy and brilliant assemblage , which augurs well for the success and happiness of the Craft iu the west , whether as Masons or as men ; and as I begun with Robert Burns , so with Robert Burns shall I

conclude" Health to the sex , ilk guid chiel says , Wi' merry dance in winter days , And we to share in common ; The gush o' joy—the balm o' woe , The soul of life—the heaven below . Is rapture giving woman . " The concert was then resumed , and concluded with the National Anthem , the solo verses of which were sung by