of poor John Bull proceeded the emphatic words, "I pay for all." I say, therefore, upon the present occasion, that I feel great satisfaction in seeing these Companies of Herefordshire Volunteers assembled at the hospitable board of my very kind friend Mr. Arkwright; and certainly nobody except himself can this day use the words of John Bull, and say, "I pay for all."

THE HEREFORDSHIRE FREEMASONS.-GRAND LODGE. APPOINTMENT OF THE ARCHDEACON AS D. P.G.M. September 21st, 1860.

BANQUET.

In proposing the health of the P.G.M., the Archdeacon said-We are apt to suppose—at least many are apt to suppose that a position of exalted eminence is one peculiarly desirable, and that it possesses nothing but pleasures and benefits; but I for one-and I am sure you will agree with me-am aware that every exalted position carries with it its own responsibilities; and the higher that position is, the greater are those responsibilities. And so it is with my right honourable friend,—occupying as he does a very exalted position, he has duties to perform sometimes, I doubt not, highly pleasurable and satisfactory to him, but at other times grievous and full of care and anxiety. Those duties do not only consist of rewarding, or marking out for reward, those who deserved such acknowledgments -doubtless nothing pleases him better than the opportunity of bestowing honours upon all who were worthy of them but our Right Worshipful Master has also to mark with reprobation cases which sometimes occur requiring the performance of this painful task.

In acknowledging his health being proposed, the Archdeacon said-If we look back to the early records of this country, to France, to Spain, and I believe also to Italy, and other countries, we shall find that Europe is indebted to Free Masonry for the noblest edifices which have been erected throughout this quarter of the globe. The majestic cathedrals of Europe, its abbeys, its castles, its private residences of former ages, of any great extent, owe their origin entirely to our predecessors in the craft. The origin of Free Masonry, as has been observed by our Grand Master, is lost in antiquity; but this we know, that at a very early age, immediately after the first Crusade, large communities of the craft marched from Palestine, and made their way over the whole of southern Europe, enlisting amongst their number men of every country in which they were sojourning; and while sojourning for a time-for they were migratory-in those countries, they erected those noble edifices which are unequalled in their furniture and architectural decorations, and whether looked at as noble ruins, or regarded with an eye to their original grandeur, are still unsurpassed, and never will be surpassed, by any other buildings which can be raised. Free Masons then spread themselves over the country, and it is a well-known fact, to Masons at least, that in the first century after the first Crusade, upwards of 600 of the most magnificent edifices of which Europe can boast, were erected by them. The Free Masons of that time were those with whom were deposited and with them almost alone-the fine arts, sculpture, painting, and architecture ;-in their exclusive possession were also comprehended the sciences, for mathematics formed no small share of the plans and arrangements which occupied their thoughts in the carrying out of those glorious ideas which resulted in the erection of those

noble edifices of which I have been speaking. And now, let us look at this great fact. Do we at the present day wish to build a cathedral, a noble edifice, a gothic mansion, or castle? Where do we go to? Have we the architects —so far as originality goes-have we the architects at the present day? No. We refer to the existing monuments of the Free Masons of old. If we want beautiful cornices, proper dimensions, or elegant proportions, we go to them, because they understood these matters, and we cannot equal them in any architectural matter whatever. Do we want authorities in architecture? It is to the Free Masons alone-the Free Masons of old-that we must go. And now, brethren and gentlemen, you will say or it may be asked," But what are the Free Masons now? They are no longer Free Masons as of old, for they build nothing." Do we build nothing? I say we do-we build up the human heart; we raise a glorious temple within man. It is true we no longer erect material buildings of stone and bricks and mortar, but we train up the man; we instruct the child to become a good man; and a good Mason is always a good man. I say we train up the man to be an effective labourer in the service of the Great Architect of the universe, and in the hope that he will ultimately be received, and enter into the eternal mansions prepared above. Who would not be proud to belong to such a community? Who can wonder that we are proud to decorate ourselves with those emblems which we know to, have been worn by our predecessors-emblems possessing a secret and mysterious meaning, unknown to the uninitiated, but understood and highly prized by those who wear them and know their worth?

HEREFORD DIOCESAN EDUCATION SOCIETY.

November 14th, 1860.

You will learn from the report of our indefatigable and able Secretary,* that the good ship of education has now been fairly launched upon our waters; in other words, that a great step in advance has been made by the provision of schools for training up the rising generation, and removing them from that state of rude ignorance which at one time threatened to make our county a bye-word amongst our better-taught neighbours. There can therefore be no need for me to attempt, at this time of day-to use a common phrase to prove, by any arguments, the utility and advantages of education, or to speak of what I may call the wickedness of allowing children to grow up without the knowledge of the Lord, and I will add also, without that knowledge which will enable them to derive both advantage and comfort from the use of those intellectual faculties with which God Almighty has been pleased to bless them as well as ourselves, and which we may rest assured were never given that they might lie dormant and idle. The hardest-the most difficult-part of our task has been accomplished, the difficulty of bringing men's minds at all to the consideration of the necessity of this educational movement, and the outlay necessarily called for by that movement. This has, in a great measure, been accom•plished, and there are now, I believe, according to the report which I have heard from our Secretary, and from my own knowledge, not more than five or six parishes in this Archdeaconry-which embraces the whole of Herefordshire, at least-which have not schools of some sort or another. This must be satisfactory to all the friends of education, as marking a contrast with the state of things

*Rev. WM. POLE.

which existed here twelve years ago; and we must remember that it is in a great measure owing to the exertions made by the Bishop, and to the countenance which he has extended, upon all occasions, to this Society, of which he is the patron, as also the founder. I believe the notion has pretty well subsided that boys cannot make good labourers or good servants because they have received some little culture because they are able to read their Bibles intelligently because they have the notion that the sun does not revolve round the earth, and the moon is not made of cheese, and can write their names instead of making a mark. I think the notion of these things has passed away, but at the same time, I am aware that even now there are a few who will talk of what they call over-education, and the folly of teaching children that which is useless-yea, worse than useless-to them. To all such who hold that opinion, I beg leave to say that it is a fallacy—a total fallacy. Like most other fallacies, having something like a fact for its foundation, I believe we can account for it in this way—at all events, I can see no other way of accounting for it-that we have in many of our schools many excellent, intelligent, and superior schoolmasters—men who are quite capable of giving instruction in the higher branches of education. And most desirable it is that it should be so, because such men have ever been found the most apt and competent in imparting rudimental instruction. But as to over-educating a boy in any of our schools, I would ask of those who talk in this way, where is this lusus naturæ to be found? He ought to have been present;--produce him as a specimen to be examined, in illustration of the assertion. The fact is, the boys don't remain at school long enough to acquire a competent share of education. By that, I mean a certain degree of moral culture,