India.

INDIA .

BOMBAY . ( From our own Correspondent . ) LODGE TRUTH ( No . 1246 ) . —Masonry is progressing in the city and island of Bombay . Four years ago the Bombayites could boast of but three lodges—the St . George , working under the G . L . of England ; the Perseverance ancl the Rising

Starthe latter consisting of natives—under that of Scotland . In 1859 , however , Lodge Concord ( No . 1059 ) was established , and has since become a numerous and prosperous lodge . Last "J'ear saw the establishment of a District Grand Lodge in Bombay , a step calculated to promote the spread of Masonry in a very material manner . For various reasons , many of the brethren have long felt the Want of yet another lod and a large

numge , ber having signed the necessary petition , R . W . Bro . G . Taylor , Prov . G . M ., immediately granted a dispensation for the lodge to commence working . The dispensation was granted on Christmas Day , 1862 ; and the petition , with the recommendation of the Prov . G . M ., sent home ; and on the Sth of January , 1 S 63 , the first meeting of Lodge Truth was held . Since that time , it has been working under its excellent master , R . W . Bro . G . S . Judge ,

who is now D . Prov . G . M . for Bombay , and is undoubtedly the best working Mason in the province . The fourth regular meeting of the lodge was held on the 6 th April , when the solemn ceremony of consecration toook place . The brethren met at 6 P . M ., at the Freemasons' Hall , the following brethren being present : —R . W . Bro . G . S . Judge , P . M . 265 , aud D . P . G . M . of Bombay ; W . M . Bro . Alfred Edginton , S . W . ; R . W . Bro . the Rev . J . J .

Farnhain , P . M . 1059 , Prov . G . Chap ., Treas . and Sec . ; Bro . J . H . Reading , S . D . ; W . Bro . J . C . N . Johnson , Prov . G . Assist . D . C , J . D . ; W . Bro . W . H . Walker , Prov . G . Assist . Sec , D . C . ; Bro . J . Wynn , Steward , Acting I . G . ; Bro . J . Raddle , Tyler ; R . W . Bro . H . Wickham , P . M . 740 and 897 , P . Prov . J . G . W . of Bengal and Bombay ; R . W . Bro . A . M . Moore , P . M . 329 ; Prov . S . G . W . ; R . W . Bro . W . I . Roper , W . M . 807 , Prov . J . G . W . ; R . W .

Bro . Alfred King , W . M . 1059 , Prov . G . Sec ; W . Bro . Manockjee Cursetjee , P . M . 342 ( Scotland ) with a large number of distinguished brethren of tbe lodge , and visitors , among whom were W . Bro . M'Kinlay , P . M . 350 ( Scotland ) , W . Bro . R . J .

Morris , W . M . 1175 ; and Bro . N . W . Oliver and Frederick L . Brown , the former the senior anel the latter the junior magistrate of Bombay . The lodge having been opened , and the minutes read , four brethren , among whom was R . W . Bro . James Gibbs , P . D . Prov . G . M . of Bombay , were ballottecl for and elected as joining members . The W . M . then , in his usual solemn manner , raised Bro . E . C . Mitchell to the sublime degree of M . M . The chair was then taken bR . W . Bro . H . Wickhamand

y , the W . M . retired , and on re-entering the lodge as D . Prov . G . M ., attended by the Prov . G . W . 's , was received with grand honours . The chair was then again taken by R . W . Bro . G . S . Judge , as D . Prov . G . M ., with R . W . Bro . H . Wickham , on his right as his deputy , the Warden's chairs were occupied by Prov . G . W . 's The Secretary then read the warrant of the lodge , and the D . Prov . G . M . delivered the following oration in honour of

Masonry : — " Brethren , it is customary at the consecration of a new lodge for some brother to deliver an oration in honour of Masonry . On this occasion that duty has devolved upon me , and were I gifted with eloquence , I would speak the praises of in glowing terms , but , as I am not , I shall , if brevity be the soul of wit , content myself with being extremely witty , for I shall be very brief . Our societis styled ' The most ancient and

hony ourable fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons , ' and I shall endeavour to prove the truth of that nomenclature . The antiquity of our Order is demonstrated by the religion it has , ever since its origin , required of all candidates for its mysteries , namely , ' the worship of the one only true God , and obedience to his divine commands , ' for that was the religion of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before the fall , and in practising

that religion they practised Masonry ; therefore Masonry is coeval with the creation of man . The secresy of Masonry ; however , commences from a later date . If the Fall had never happened our institution would never have become a secret society , but would , doubtless , have been practised openly throughout the world up to the present time ; but , in consecpience of that lamentable event , wickedness entered into the world , and it became necessary for the good to separate themselves from the evil . This they effected by forming themselves into lodges , into which none but good men and true were admitted , and in

order that the good , that is to say , the members of the Craft , might be able to distinguish each other from the evil , that is to say , tlie cowans , a peculiar method was adopted , whereby we are enabled to recognise one another by night as well as by day , in the dark as well as in the light . It may be as well to remark , however , that , although the fair sex were excluded from our lodges , they were never included in the category of cowans or evil ones ; on the contrarythey have always beenlooked upon

, by us as guardian angels sent from Heaven to keep man in the right path ; ancl the only reason for their non-admission into the Craft that I have ever been able to discover is , that , being absolutely perfect , they need not the adventitious aid of Masonry to make them so . But to resume the subject—at first great circumspection was used in admitting candidates into our Order , and well would it have been for Masonry if the same

circumspection had always been practised , for then no bad men would have been admitted into the Craft and no good men would have held aloof from it . I , therefore , strongly exhort the members of this new lodge to be extremely careful as to whom they accept , and always to remember that the prosperity of a lodge depends not so much upon the wealth or number of its members , as upon their good qualities and amiable dispositions . That our

society is most honourable is proved hy the principles upon which it is founded , namely , 'brotherly love , relief , and truth , ' and I hope that these will not be mere watch-words in your mouths , but will be instilled into your hearts , and influence you in all your actions . To show the usefulness of our institution I might point to our charities , such as our Girls' School , our Boys ' School , our Widows' Fund , our Asylum for Aged and Decayed

Masons , our General Fund of Benevolence , and the private fund of benevolence of every lodge ; hut I prefer pointing to our Masonic charity , —that virtue which , Masonry teaches us , includes all others , and the top of that ladder which reaches unto Heaven ; since the poor alone are benefitted by the former , while the latter showers blessings on rich and poor alike ; for what man is there however wealthyor however exalted in rank he beso

, , free from human feelings and human sorrows as never to requireforbearance for the one , or sympathy for the other . But Masonic charity teaches us not only to love our friends , but also to forgive our enemies . If then , I am so unfortunate as to have an enemy amongst you ( which God forbid ) , I as freely forgive

mm Ins enmity , as I hope he will forgive me my offences , even to this last—the having inflicted , upon him so prosy an oration . " The D . Prov . G . M . then proceeded to consecrate the lodge , which ceremony , seldom as it falls to the lot of any brother here to perform it , he went through with as much ease as if he had been initiating a candidate . Few of the bretliren present had ever before witnessed the ceremony , but all were delighted by the deep significance of the symbolsthe solemnitof the ritual

, y , and particularly the impressive manner in which the whole rite was conducted . The anthems and other musical parts of the ceremony were beautifully rendered by Bros . Roberts , Comforth ,, Mitchell , and Farnham , accompanied by Bros . Swanseger , Prov . G . Org ., and organist of the Cathedral . Some of the music had been arranged by Bro . Farnham , the words only being furnished , but the anthem " How dear the place where brothers

true , " had been set to music as a solo , duett , and chorus , by a non-Masonic gentleman . The solo was sung by Bro . Comforth , the duett by Bros . Comforth and Farnham . The ceremony of consecration being concluded , Bro . H . Wickham resumed the chair , when after administering the usual obligation to the W . M ., he installed him into the Eastern chair . The other officers were then investedand five brethren having been proposed as joining

, members , the lodge was closed , and at nine o ' clock the brethren : sat down to a banquet worthy of the occasion , such a one as our friends at home would hardly suppose that we perspiring Bombay ducks could provide . The cloth being removed , the usual loyal and Masonic toasts were drunk ; the speeches were very appnmriate , but were like the W . M . ' s oration , never long enough to tire the patience of the brethren , or to interfere with the

musical treat which was so plentifully provided . The toasts were interspersed with songs , glees , and choruses , by Bros . Vining , Roberts , Edginton , Comforth , Reading , Farnham , and last but not least , by Bros . Cardozo , Carson , Palin , Martinnant , Brower , and Pierce , who attended as guests , and who have , during the last few weeks most agreeably broken the monotony of Bombay life , by a series of entertainments they have been iving

g under the name of the San Francisco minstrels . Joy and good humour , unshawdowed by the slightest cloud , prevailed until a late hour , when the brethren dispersed , to look back , we trust , for many a long time , with feelings of lively pleasure on the consecration of Lodge Truth .