Consecration.

CONSECRATION .

LODGE OF THE THREE PILLARS . ON Tuesday , 8 th ult , another Lodge was added to the Province of Devonshire , and Torquay ' s newest suburb , Cockington , will now have its name inscribed on the roll of our world-wide Fraternity , under the title of " The Lodge of the Three Pillars , No . 2806 . " For some time past it has been felt that there was room for a Lodge holding meetings

in the afternoon , where gentlemen of leisure , or comparative leisure , could meet and promote the grand principles of the Order . Bro . the Rev . J . Henning , vicar of Cockington , is not exactly a gentleman of leisure , for his time is pretty fully occupied already ; nevertheless , his love for the

principles of Freemasonry has induced him to add another tie to the place where he works so hard , and , with the assistance of Bro . F . J . W . Crowe and others , to found a new Lodge in the parish where his energies are devoted . So the Lodge at Cockington was duly dedicated and consecrated in the Parish

Room by Bro . G . C . Davie P . G . D . Eng . Acting Provincial Grand Master ( in the absence of Lord Northcote , now in Bombay ) , assisted by Bro . W . J . Hughan P . G . D . Eng . acting as JJ . P . G . M , Bro . F . B . Westlake P . D . G . D . C . Eng . Prov .

S . G . W ., Bro . S : Jones acting as Prov . J . G . W ., Bro . W . E . Vvindle actino- as Prov . G . Chap ., Bro . John Stocker Prov . G . Sec , and Bro . J . R . Lord Prov . G . D . C . The attendance exceeded 120 .

The usual form of consecration was observed , Bro . W . J . Hughan P . G . D . ( Eng ) delivering the Oration , as follows : Having in recent years delivered addresses at the Dedication of Masonic Halls for the " Salem " Lodge , Dawlish , and the " Jordan " Lodge , Torquay , which were mainiv

on the Principles of Freemasonry , and printed copies having been widely circulated , I purpose now ( as a portion of the CEREMONY OF CONSECRATION ) in completion of my trio , to say a few words concerning the origin of the Society of

which we are the lineal descendants , so as to illustrate the " Nature" of the Institution , rather than to dwell on its beneficent and Fraternal character , so as to justify our claim to be considered the " Ancient Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons . "

In early days there were several organisations of Masons , more or less connected , but some quite independent . Of these a few continued to more modern' times , one being the Fraternity to which we have the honour to belong . The Steinmetzen of Germany , the Comacine Masters of Italy ,

and the Trade Sodalities of France , and other countries , existed side by side with our Institution , but , though formed in many respects , and of necessity , on similar lines , they never coalesced ; hence in relation to my present aim , we have only to treat of one body , so long and so honourably

known as the Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons . So far back as records anl other evidences exist , it was exclusively Christian and organised under ecclesiastical influence , for the building of the great cathedrals and other noble edifices , the pride and wonder of the world .

Many of their Regulations and Contracts are still preserved , as also ( and happily ) numerous copies of their venerable " Charges , " dated from the 14 th century , at which period they were deemed and stated to oe old survivals of

much more ancient documents . The traditions refer not only to the history of this country in the days of King Athelstane , -who granted the Masons a Charter , but to a period of much more remote antiquity , conveniently designated as " of time immemorial . "

Lodges are noted from 1370 at York—the Mecca of the English Craft—and Free Masons are met with in documents of the . same decade . Evidently , then , the approximate purpose of the Society was to provide Rules and Regulations

for the guidance and control of Operative Masons , known as ¦ FREEmasons , who were united on a moral and religious basis and grouped together to raise the magnificent fanes in which to worship the Most High .

Their Laws were framed for the promotion of a high moral code , as well as to preserve the monopoly and secret of building , and it was on these ordinances that the first

" Book of Constitutions " of the premier Grand Lodge was based . These Operative Lodges received and adopted speculative neophytes . from the 15 th century ( and by tradition Centuries before then ) , minutes of such receptions existing

Consecration.

from the year 1600 . The Lodge . of Edinburgh , No . I , Scotland—the oldest in the world—possesses a series of records of its meetings from 1599 down to the present year of grace , thus overlapping the " Revival " and Grand Lodge eras . There are many Lodges which have preserved their minutes for 250 years or more .

Precisely when Lodges for speculative objects only were established is not quite clear . In England we meet with one under the wing of the " Masons' Company , " of London , from 1620-1 . Its grant of arms dates from 1472 , and is ours , in part , by adoption . It was this Lodge that was visited in

1682 by Elias Ashmole , who was admitted as a member of a speculative Lodge held at Warrington in 1646 , as described in his famous diary—a Class Lodge really , and one of the earliest known . The oldest minute of the presence of a gentleman in open Lodge as a member , in Scotland , was in A . D . 1600 .

The Brethren so " made" in the Masons' Company Lodge was called "Accepted Masons , " the meetings being described as the " Acception "; the Company until the sixth decade of the 17 th century bearing the title of FREEmasons , after which the prefix was dropped ; hence , for that

and other reasons , we obtain the dual prefix of FREE and ACCEPTED Masons , though exactly when first used has not been elucidated , but probably some two hundred years ago . Grand Lodges were formed on a cosmopolitan and unsectarian basis , as in England A . D . I 7 i 7 , by certain of

these old Lodges ; but others held aloof , preferring for a time to worK under the operative regime , until eventually they either joined the new Governing Bodies , or succumbed

to adverse circumstances . One of these ancient Lodges , with records from A . D . 1674 , only joined the Grand Lodge of Scotland in my time , having preserved its independence for centuries .

The Grand Lodge of England was established on the broad foundation of Trust in God , and to promote l ! . e Brotherhood of Man . Freemasonry , which has penetrated into all parts of the habitable globe , and flourishes most in free countries , has for its real " NATURE " or essence , the

symbolic use of the Tools and Designs of Operative Masonry , interpreted and enforced as moral lessons in a manner peculiar to the " Mystic Tie . " Its superstructure rests on the purest principles of piety and virtue ; but whilst it is open to men of all religions ( even Roman Catholics , though the

Pope has excommunicated us ) , provided they are just , upright , and free , of mature age , sound judgment , and strict morals ( according to the Constitutions ) , the modern Ritual is still indicative of its Christian origin , and without its numerous references to the Volume of the Sacred Law it would be lifeless , meaningless , and useless .

Without an expressed trust in God no one can be admitted within our portals . A Godless and faithless Fraternity is simply impossible ; hence Atheists cannot associate with us in Masonic fellowship . Let there be no mistake as to this . Freemasonry is impossible where a

belief in God is not , and all societies , in France or elsewhere , termed Masonic , are so only in name , which omit the necessary trust in an omnipresent , omniscient , and omnipotent Creator . Without such a necessary and absolutely essential pre-requisite , the Fraternity would become an emasculated nonentity , having a name , but dead .

We , in Great Britain and Ireland , the Dominion of Canada , and the Colonies and dependencies of our beloved Queen , unite with the Grand Lodges in the United States , our natural allies , on this firm foundation , and we are only too glad to recognise and work with Grand Lodges on the

continent of Europe and in South America who respect and acknowledge the same foundation . Lacking such' indispensable condition lying at the root and nature of our Brotherhood , we are all determined ( over a million Brethren ) as the heart of one man , to decline fellowship with all bodies

who secede from this original and necessary landmark , which is for all time and must necessarily distinguish the Society to be entitled to the name of " Free and Accepted Masons . " After a long and close study of the history of the Fraternity , I have no hesitation in declaring that I consider

the continuity of the Society for at least 500 years can be , and has been , clearly , proved bv actual documents , that by tradition it is much more ancient , and that its nature and

principles are such that , so long as Brethren practice what they are taught in our Lodges , Freemasonry is one of the oldest , most beneficent , loyal , patriotic , and Fraternal Institutions in the universe .