Standing Still.

STANDING STILL .

AN addition to the Lodges of Toronto is an unusual event in its history , for a prejudice against granting warrants has existed for some years . Although Toronto has more than doubled in population during the last decade the only new Lodges were those added through the amalgamation of outlying municipalities . Certain Brethren have a preference for large Lodges , and looked with prejudice on the Englishman ' s idea of " a little

farm well tilled , and a little Lodge well filled , " and placed all the obstacles in their power against organising new Lodges . However , Bro . John A . McGillivray D . D . G . M ., like a clever lawyer , got over the difficulty . There is no law against removing the location of a Lodge from one part of the jurisdiction to another , and as Goorgina Lodge , No . 343 , was not prospering in its

own locality , and he being desirous that no Lodge should surrender its warrant during his incumbency , adopted the happy expediency of removing Georgina Lodge to Toronto , where there is ample scope to make a vigorous and growing Lodge out of it . Under the able management of its present Officers , the future prosperity of the Lodge is assured . — " Canadian Craftsman . "

The Masonic Altar.

THE MASONIC ALTAR .

OF course this portion of the Lodge furniture is but one of the symbols of Masonic philosophy , and is not to be classed among like structures erected for strictly religious purposes , else would Freemasonry cease in its universality as the custodian of liberty of conscience , and become a mere representative of sect or creed , with a theological covenant and constitution and certain articles of religious belief .

But the distinctive line separating Freemasonry from sect or creed in the religious world is so fine as to be difficult to discern . The altar worship of the world , in all ages , has been clearly developed from the hour when the

two first Brothers built each an altar , down to to-day . Athens had 30 , 000 altars erected to the pantheology of its religious worship , and for fear some one of the multitude of gods had been overlooked , an altar was raised to the " unknown god , " whom these old Greeks ignorantly worshipped .

The Masonic altar is erected to God , and dedicated to the two great Christian saints , John . This certainly gives to this piece of Lodge furniture a religious significance which should clothe it in a garment of veneration .

Around it have knelt thousands of the brightest and best of humanity . Generations of men have come and gone , and cities have crumbled to ruins , but lo I here is an altar where we may bow and seek the assistance of that Being who alone can protect amid dangers and difficulties .

It is a curious thing , when we contemplate it , how this altar has been preserved . Creeds have battled against creeds , and the altars of each have in succession fallen , but the Masonic altar still remains . As each new generation comes the seriously bowed head has taken its place at the old

altar . Shall this not give strong evidence that the altar will remain ? Does it not present silent testimony that the vows there spoken are the links that bind humanity into a band of common Brotherhood ? When Joshua crossed the Jordan he took twelve stones out of the bed of the river and built an

altar commemorative of the entrance to the promised land . The fathers were to tell the children what these stones meant in the days to come . How long this altar remained as a witness of this wonderful transaction is Unknown , but wo may surmise that the heap of stones would be guarded with jealous care for many generations to come .

And so with the Masonic altar . What mean ye by these vows , pledged before Jehovah , for the benefit of our common Brotherhood ? What have you done , Brother , to fulfil these vows ? Yes , you have kept the secrets inviolate , but that was only the passive part of the obligation . What about the active ? Has the world , in any manner , been benefited or bettered by

you since you bowed at that Masonic altar ? Has the cry of distress passed unheeded or the mute appeal for help been hy you ignored ? Has your hand been reached out to stay a tottering Brother who has wandered into b y and forbidden paths ? Have you laboured with yourself to subdue those passions

that jar and clash with the element of good within you ? In short , which is it , have the principles taught in Masonry taken full possession of your will power , or have you caged them , as birds of beautiful song and plumage , to contemplate but not to utilise ? Ah , what answer , Brethren ?— " Tyler . "

Our New Officers.

OUR NEW OFFICERS .

ONE of the hardest lessons that the worthily ambitious Mason has to learn is that of submission to the will ol his Brethren , and though this is a task by no means easy of accomplishment right through the dog days of the Masonic year , it becomes doubly difficult at the annual recurrence of the season , when merit is , or ought to be , appreciated , and the suffrages of the Brethren fall upon the more expert workmen to preside over them for the

ensuing year . Unfortunately the lessons bearing upon this point , and inculcated in the Installation ceremony , are , by the majority of the Brethren , so infrequently heard that their significance is not indelibl y imprinted upon their minds , but the sentiments they extol are the theme of admiration for a

moment , and then this transient feeling evanesces , only to be recalled at the expiration of another year , and with Pope wo are reminded that "Fools admire , but men of sense approve . " The distinction made between the two attributes does not of course apply to those of our Brethren who possess the

Our New Officers.

former , and what we desire to point out is that if approbation took the place of admiration , we should perhaps perceive the actuality of the lesson in the deportment , and state of mind of Brethren who have not been called to the feast by their fellows , and are overcome by a feeling of resentment , which it would be beyond the reach of poor human nature to entirely prevent from taking possession of the heart .

Remarks made by Brother Spencer D . G . M . of New South Wales , at the recent installation meeting of Lodge Leinster Marine , are in this connection worthy of consideration by every Brother who aspires to hold office in our Lodges—to those whose aspirations bud into ripeness , and particularl y to those who suffer the natural pangs of disappointment . The Right Worshi pful

Brother said that the friction apparent at the last election meeting of the Lodge was decidedly in opposition to the best interests of the Lodge , and he urged upon the unsuccessful candidates the necessity of cheerfully acquiescing in the ruling of the majority . He deplored the expressed intention of several members , who declared their intention to leave the Lodge if the investments

of certain Officers were completed , and urged them to personally apply the beautiful teachings of the Installation ceremony . Truly that he should have felt it incumbent upon him to utter such weighty words—their influence increased coming from such an exalted dignitary—is deplorable , and upon a

surface view it does appear most damaging to this very old and popular Lodge , but " the heart knoweth its own bitterness , and the stranger intermeddleth not therewith , " and exceptional circumstances , or circumstances deemed to be exceptional , could no doubt be pleaded by those Brethren to whom this rebuke was justly afforded .

There cannot be an observing Brother throughout the jurisdiction who does not at this period of the year perceive an uneasy feeling prevalent in most of our Lodges , and this feeling of unrest is increased to a certain extent amongst the principal Officers , owing to the uncertainty hanging over the selection of Grand Lodge Officers . Observing this , it strikes the onlooker

that a re-distribution of the dates , say of election , in the private Lodges , might lessen the fever that exhibits itself in the earnest demeanour of the dignitaries of the Craft , and the anxiety manifested by Worshipful Masters as to the result of the elections . But our theme is the dissatisfaction , which expresses itself in threats of calling off , because personal notions have not

prevailed in the election of Lodge Officers , and if Brethren could only see how puerile and small such exhibitions make them appear in the eyes of those who are too magnanimous to be purturbed by such small causes , they would not , we are sure , permit their chagrin to overcome them so far as to

render them liable to the charge of petulance . That the D . G . M . pursues the right course when he fraternally admonishes recalcitrant Brethren is undoubted , and that his rebuke may bear forth the fruit of amendment is the wish of every sincere bondsman of the mystic tie . — " Masonry . "

Eulogy On Freemasonry.

EULOGY ON FREEMASONRY .

THE following address was delivered by Bro . Win . H . Scott at the laying of the Corner-Stone of the new Primitive Methodist Church , Providence , R . I ., 9 th October 1894 : We have come together to-day to perform a Masonic and a Christian work . The Order of Freemasonry and the Church of Christ unite in laying

the corner-stone of a house which is to be consecrated to Eternal Truth , — which is to be used as the outward dwelling place of the Most High . We rejoice that the principles of our Order are thus allied with the truths of the Christian Church , —that the spirit of their teaching and the benevolence of

their practice are one and the same . We rejoice that we acknowledge the same Grand Master , that the daily conduct of our members is regulated by the same Divine precepts , that we are taught " to erect our spiritual building agreeably to the rules and designs laid down by the Supreme Architect of the Universe in the great book of nature and revelation , " the Bible .

Some may ask , whence did this Order of Freemasonry originate ? Who can tell ?—except it be in the fundamental and eternal principle of Truth . On that basis Freemasonry surely stands . It is not the purpose at this time to discourse on the formation and the development of the Institution Suffice it to say that the benign and fructifying principles of the Order have

made for it a reputable history and have gained for it the world ' s recognition This Grand Lodge is invited to perform the service of laying this corner-stone to-day , because it is recognised by the Church as a society established in accordance with the principles of morality and good government , — as a Paternity whose objects are to foster virtue , to inculcate truth , to practice charity , to uphold lawful authority .

What is Freemasonry , and what is its relation to the Church ? Freemasonry is a progressive , ethical science , veiled in allegory and illustrated in symbolism , but permeated by a living power . Its foundation is truth ; its principles , the principles which the Christian disciple is taught to follow The chart of the Mason is the Holy Bible , which is the Great Light of

Freemasonry . Masonic faith acknowledges the Bible to be the Word of God I that it will guide man to all truth and point out to him his whole duty . The Mason recognises the existence of the Supreme Being ; and the novitiate in Freemasonry is obliged to express a belief in Him . He is instructed in the important duties which he owes to God , to his neighbour and to himself . T °

God , in reverencing His name , in imploring His aid , and in seeking from Hini comfort and support ; to his neighbour , in exercising Brotherly love , w relieving his distress and soothing his afflictions , and in the practice of tuo Golden Rule , " Do unto others as you would have them do unto you "; ttoA to himself , in a prudent and well-regulated life , to the full development of his