testimony of the gratitude and respect borne to the Grand Master of this Province. To you, most Worshipful Sir, when I turn and see you bearing the decorations which you so well deserve for the progress made by you in Masonry, in the higher branches of science, and the high position you occupy amongst the literary characters of your country, and when I hand you this testimony, I feel, simple as it is, you will value it, not for its intrinsic merits, but for the sake of those who present it to you. They do it in remembrance of the deep gratitude they feel for the many advantages which you have conferred upon Masonry in general, and the Palladian Lodge in particular. We are not unmindful of the fact that when you became Grand Master of this Province only one Lodge-the Palladian— could be said to exist in this county; that you have assisted us repeatedly by your counsels, so that with and under your auspices this Lodge has been resuscitated; and we have seen other Lodges spring up again into existence from the chaos of oblivion. I am sure you will bear with me when I say that we most sincerely wished, indeed, could have desired, that this little jewel which I hold in my hand were more worthy of your acceptance, that instead of gold and silver, it were set in rubies and diamonds—the rubies of wisdom and the diamonds of science-precious emblems of those principles which have so nobly shone forth in that most eloquent, that beautiful, and that touching address we have heard from you this day. Right Worshipful Sir, I will not attempt to enter into my own feelings upon an occasion that gives me so much satisfaction, so much real pleasure, as the present does. I proceed to offer to you this little jewel, a token of the high respect borne by the Palladian Lodge to that high office which you now bear, and at the same time of their regard, their sincere affection for you, personally and individually. Before I sit down, permit me to propose a toast which you will, I am sure, receive with the acclamation and delight due from you when I submit the health of the R.W.P.G.M. the Rev. Dr. Bowles. AT DINNER OF VOLUNTEER RIFLE CORPS. 1862. I think the single fact of the hearty reception you give to my name at once stamps a very favourable character on the military element of our country. Time was when the military mess-room was not the place where you would expect to find a grave and respectable minister of religion; time was, I fear, when the last person whom a young and joyous band of volunteers would have rejoiced to see at their table, was a clergyman of mature age and fair reputation. But the welcome you have always extended towards me, and the conduct you have at all times exhibited in my presence, shew me not only that this is no unfitting time or place at which to be amongst you, but that you also claim that your manner, your conversation, and your bearing shall be such as become Christian gentlemen, and your society suitable and becoming to be shared in by one of my calling and position. Living in your own homes as private individuals, and therefore each of you under the ministry and guidance of your respective Pastors, the duties I have to perform amongst you are few and far between; but while I bear my commission I must not permit its responsibilities to be disregarded, and therefore I must not allow any opportunity to escape of offering a word in season to those who by their own unsolicited choice have placed me in the position of doing so; you will not therefore think me impertinent or intrusive when I say that I believe my presence with you to-day may be of service by tempering any exuberance of spirits, and preventing the slightest transgression of the strictest rules of soberness and propriety. AMATEUR CONCERT AT MANSEL LACY IN AID OF THE LANCASHIRE DISTRESS. December 30th, 1862. AS REPORTED IN THE HEREFORD JOURNAL. Before the audience separated, the Archdeacon remarked that before they parted he could not help expressing his gratification at the numbers present. They promised them nothing but what native talent could produce, and he hoped none had been disappointed in the performance. If they thought the price of admittance too high, they must remember that every farthing of it would go towards the object for which they were assembled, being the relief of our distressed brethren. There would be no expenses whatever to be paid out of the proceeds, as they would be discharged in other ways. He hoped that God would sanctify the proceedings; the first part was dedicated to Him, and the other parts were harmless and calculated to give them innocent amusement. CHURCH PASTORAL AID SOCIETY, I feel most deeply thankful to Almighty God for having so far restored me from a long and serious illness, as to enable me to be present amongst you at the meeting to-day. I cannot but say that the city of Hereford itself has great cause to be very grateful for the assistance rendered to it. A curate has been found for the parish of All Saints, and I am sure my friend the Vicar feels deeply thankful. We all know the very small amount in value of the incumbency he holds, and how impossible it is for him, from that, to find a coadjutor in those labours which otherwise would devolve entirely on him. The Church Pastoral Aid Society has been established for very many years, and with great regret I find that there is a considerable falling off in the subscriptions in the North of England. This, doubtless, can easily and readily be accounted for by the dire distress in the Lancashire districts; and now we may expect to suffer something from the privations in the Coventry districts. There has been a great drain upon Charity in this country, and we must be glad to see the noble way in which our countrymen, aye, and our countrywomen too, came forward to succour and support their fellow-creatures. But in this cause, as is generally the case in most others, the willing horse has to bear all the burden, and the principal drain of charity falls almost altogether on the same persons. The advantages to be derived from societies like the one whose claims we are now advocating, are self-evident, but it is not for me now to enter into them. There is, however, one circumstance which I cannot help mentioning, which shows that the present is a time when our efforts should not be withdrawn, or our hands stayed; but, on the contrary, it is one when we ought to redouble our efforts, and to do all in our power to counteract those dangerous and pernicious principles which are being spread over the earth, and which come from a quarter we little expected. It is a lamentable thing to see that we have in the Church of England men who hold such principles-that such publications should have been given to the world by one having a high position in the Church of England, and a See in Africa. The publication is of such a character, that I cannot denominate it anything less than Infidelity. It is but a short time since the "Essays and Reviews" appeared; a dangerous book, but one comparatively honest when compared with the one I have spoken of, inasmuch as it is a work of a subtle character, by no means an interesting publication, and therefore not read by the uneducated classes; but this book is a plain denial of the miracles of the Old Testament, and speaks in a disrespectful and flippant manner of things which we have all been accustomed, thank God, to look upon as the sheet anchor of our holy religion. We may expect to see a publication like this spread about in all quarters of the land; doubtless a portion of it will be held up by men who ridicule the Bible, in low public-houses, and it will be printed at a cheap rate, and carried about from mouth to mouth among the masses, and the Bible made a subject of ridicule. In the book we find that the records of the Pentateuch are utterly denied. We are told that Noah and his ark are a fable, and I have read in the last part which was published—that if Noah was able to assemble all the beasts of the field and the birds of the air in the ark, it was impossible for him to find pens for them, or to clean them out in the morning. When we read such flippant expressions as these, we have reason to believe they will be put into the mouths of others, and carried into the humble homes of the poor. Hence we should watch with anxiety the growth of the Church Pastoral Aid Society, in the hopes that it will furnish Scripture-readers and Curates in every part of the land to a still greater extent than hitherto, so as to counteract the fearful principles which would otherwise tend to ruin the souls of millions of our fellow-creatures, and enable those who are sent by this Society to carry on the work of |