What Can Do More ?

fo-sious , and doctrines and dogmas , which binds men together iu a universal brotherhood , and which in all il-d . e is tho surest defence against man-worship and

con-. v . qnent human tyranny , as ifc is t ' ao aid and comfort , the ; t \ uhor and compass of weak humanity in its voyage of lii ' i * , upon thafc ocean who : * e billows break hero upon the shores of Time , and yonder—who can tell ?

A society thus liberal in its religious faith cannot fail fco be so in other particulars . Since mankind had a history , two great opposing elements have waged perpetual warfare for the mastery — liberty ancl authority ; and upon the side of tho latter ecclcsiasticism , whether pagan

or Christian , has always been arrayed . Ifc has ever beon the most potent foe of freedom of speech and of thought ; and whenever its influence has beeu so far overcome as to insure religious liberty , there be suro tbat civil aud political liberty abound . Hence , iu Masonry , our liberality in creed

insures liberality in politics , aud men of every party and faction , of every shade and variety of political doctrine , meet in Lodge upon tho most fraternal aud kindly terms ; and , so jealous is the Order of the entire freedom ' of all its members , and of fche harmony of the Lodge , thafc all

kinds of political conversation and discussion are positively interdicted in tho Lodge-room . Nor does Masonry prefer any man because of his birthplace or kindred , his clothing or his mansion . It looks him squarely in the face and asks him , Do you keep the golden rule ? If you do not ,

neither ancestry nor wealth , place or power , friends or family , will commend yon ; but if you do , the door of Masonry is open to you . " Worth makes the man ; want of it the fellow , " is the axiom upon which ifc acts in selecting its membership and strengthens its Lodges . But ,

while thus eschewing party politics , Masonry is not , cannot be , indifferent to those questions of public interest , on which the welfare of the people and the country depend . On the contrary it especially inculcates the duties of good citizenship , and encourages all its members to be " true to

their government and just to their country . " It also bids them labour to secure the accomplishment of such political ends as will result in peace and harmony , liberty and fraternity in all our borders . It is not sectional or provincial , but broad , liberal aud generous iu all its teachings ;

and , brethren , I have often thought that upon us at lasfc depends the solution of the greafc sectional controversy thafc has so long disturbed and divided our country . We had war , in which even Masons took the lives of each other ; men professing the same faith , having the same name ,

speaking the same language , and bound by the same obligations , loving peace and hating war , stood in serried ranks and strenuously sought to destroy each other . Bufc that war has passed away ; and for a quarter of a century wc who survived it have beea favoured citizens of a

common country . Aud yet wo allow , aye , sometimes I fear encourage , men in our presence to teach , unrebuked , the doctrines of strife and hate aud fill our minds with distrust and jealousy of each other . Men in the South say thafc Southern ideas must prevail , because thev are

Southern ; and men in the North , fchafc Northern ideas must dominate because they are Northern , as though ideas took thoir value from tbo points of tho compass ; ancl each urges that the other must not be tolerated , but fchafc there must be strife and contention till one or the other is destroved

when the truth is , and every intelligent patriot knows it , that , by thc elimination of what is bad in each , and the selection and union of what is good in both , a superior civilisation will be produced , and a true union and harmony be restored to the people . I conjure you , brethren , of

party , do not tolerate thoso of your own number , who teach that strife is good for the spoils it brings , or the victory that follows ; but rather encourage those of true iviaaonic

and liberal views , whose ideas are not bounded by the mountain-tops of their own natural horizon , or the wants and necessities of their own party faction , but who maintain truth and justice , liberty and right for all .

Again : Masonry teaches men to be good husbands and lathers , and also good workers . Not only as Masons in tbe Lodge and within the Order in matters Masonic , but its farst lesson is that a Mason is not , even for the sake ot ins attendance at Lodge , to neglect his ordinary vacation umuuui

„ uo m ousiness ancl eat no man ' s bread for nought . "If a man > vill nofc work , neither shall he eat , is an apostolic injunction which Masonry has adopted and m its higher orders inculcates upon its members . The nrst dut y of a man in any society is to mm an honest living , tfo matter what his ambitions , his plans for tbe

What Can Do More ?

future , his necessities or his expectations , ha who fails to provide for his family is worse than an infidel . Aud he who does not earn his own living , bufc allows , as I have seen ,

his mother or s * ster by daily or nightly toil to support him in idleness , deserves the execration of all honest men , and a daily enstigation at the hands of every mother and sister in the land , and then a plaeo in the workhouse .

Nofc the least of tho virtues Masons are taught to practise is temperance ; and yet ifc is nofc a " temperance society , " so-called , nor does our code require total abstinence , though in modern parlance this seems to bo the common understanding of this word . As wo define

it , temperance is that due restraint upon our affections , desires and passions , which renders the body tame and governable , and frees tbe mind from the allurements of vice , and woe to the Mason who maddens or besots himself .

I believe that intemperance is one of the greatest evils which curses American society ; and there is a call upon fche best thonght and will in the land to repress it—not only intemperance in drink ; but also in food , in dress , in speech ,

and in thonght . Intelligent and right sentiment is the basis of all true reform , and I am persuaded that , after all , no better plan or precept has been devised than the simple teaching of Masonry : " Circumscribe your passions , and keep your desires within duo bounds . "

In short , the sole purpose of our Order is to produce a nobler , purer , higher , truer manhood in its membership and in all men . What can do more ? The church might have made this all unnecessary , had ifc been entirely true to its purpose and mission . If it had strived with half the

energy to keep hell out of men that it has to keep men out of hell , perhaps Freemasonry would not have had its present place and power . If the sects had fought each other less , and fought the devil more , men might have felt less need for Lodges and Chapters and Councils and

Commanderies . Less of creeds and more of deeds would have won more of the hearts of men . When the fires of religious persecution were hottest , the seeds of modern Freemasonry were sown . When the rack and the screw were torturing

men and women for the sake of the church , Freemasonry was exclaiming , " Behold how pleasant and how good it is for brethren to dwell together in unity , " and was proclaiming the Gospel of Faith , Hope and Charity—but the greatest of these is Charity . "

But why havo Lodges and secret words and grips for this purpose , do you ask ? I will toll you . When Hannibal was making that fearful pioneer crossing of the Alps in ancients times , he was informed one day that the cause of the army's halt was thafc the vanguard had come to a

swollen mountain stream , which no man dare cross . Biding to fcho front he summoned the soldiers and gnvo fche order , " Join hands by liidics and niaruh across , " and

the forty thousand passed over without the loss of a singlo man . Ifc was madness for one to try the Alpine torrent ; and ton , or pet-hups twenty , would have been swept away and lost ; bnfc tho combined efforts of the united filty , and

their mutual confidence and support , sufficed ' . o take all safely through . Thus it ia in life . Through its tempests and torrents , over its quagmires and quicksands , in

temptation and danger , we might sink alone in darkness and despair ; bufc the strong grip of a brother ' s hand , the cheering tone of a brother ' s voice , tho steady support of stout arms and brave hearts , give us hope and courage and strength and salvation .

There s a world where all are equal , We are hurrying towards it fast , We shall meet upon the level there When the gates of death are past :

There ' s a mansion and a welcome , And a multitude is there , Who met npon the level here And were tried upon the square .

Ilands round , ye faithful Masons ! Form the bright fraternal chain—We part upon the square below , To meet in heaven again . —Yoke of Masonry .

HOLLOWAY ' S PILLS AKD OISTMKXT are particul-irly racommamlc'l to person * who have to pass their lives in con'h : ed and crowded places ; hui'dred . < of thousands of our fellow creatures toil from morning unr . it cveam-j in tUctoiios ami workshops to tho detriment of their health , and the deterioration of tho race . They suffer in conae-nwuco from indigestion , Itatulence , und mat of

appetite , and these complaints , if neglected , bring about nervousness and failure of the vital powers . Holloway's remedies can ba used by sucii sufferers to their very great advantage , as they are mild in action , and cestain in their effects . No ouo need therefore lose a day ' s work when using tboin , a matter uf . conse'iuence to those whose daily bread depends on daily toil .