Mysteries Of Nature And Science.

plenty of time to expound his views , and the Brethren who were present to express their appreciation of the treat afforded them . The usual supper was dispensed with , but the mental banquet was of a very high order , and yet served so successfully , that its truths could be assimilated by men of ordinary intelligence , and even limited education . Eecently Bro . Dr . Watson , the

wellknown Treasurer of Kilwinning Orient , No . 14 , N . 8 . W ., afforded the Brethren of that Lodge a great treat by providing ten powerful microscopes , and exhibiting the circulation of blood in a frog ' s foot , with lucid explanations and comparisons , which would not easily be forgotten . That such proper exhibitions have been so extremely rare in New South Wales need be little

regretted , when we consider that the start thus made in scientific research has been of so high an order and so practical , that we remember nothing in the other colonies whieh could exceed it in exnellence , and we trust that Lodge Temperance will spend many more evenings in a similarly useful and creditable

employment , and that Brethren will endeavour to realise that Freemasonry does nofc begin and end in the ceremonies of conferring degrees . Setting such an example as this , Lodge Temperance will more than maintain its character for success aud progress , and will lay up for its members a crown of rejoicing , which shall never fade away . — " Masonry . "

The consecration of the new Prince Llewellyn Lodge was fixed for Thursday last , at the Masonic Temple , Cardiff , a large attendance of Masons from all parts of South Wales being expected . We hope to report the proceedings next week .

The Sutton Masonic Hall Company , Limited , has been registered with a capital of £ 2 , 000 in £ 2 shares . The first directors are to be elected by the signatories ; the qualification

being ten shares , and their remuneration to be fixed by the Company . The Eegistered offices are at 26 High Street , Sutton , Surrey .

We understand that a warrant for a new Eose Croix Chapter has been granted , the meetings to be held at the Freemasons ' Hall , Cooper Street , Manchester , Bro . Arthur H . Jefferis , 30 ° ,

Past M . W . S . being the M . W . S . designate . The consecration , of which we hope to furnish further particulars in an early issue , is expected to take place at the above institution on Monday , 24 th February .

"A Sprig Of Acacia."

"A SPRIG OF ACACIA . "

BY the death of Brother Councillor John Bradshaw P . M . P . P . G . D ., the Freemasons of West Lancashire have suffered a severe loss which will also be poignantly felt by his late colleagues in the council of the Manchester Corporation . Although a prominent Churchman and an earnest Conservative ,

Bro . Bradshaw was not by any means an aggressive politician , and his regular attendance at the meetings , his uniformly quiet demeanour , and unostentatious method of procedure had so endeared him to the ratepayers , that he was twice re-elected without opposition ( 1892 and 1895 ) , for the Collegiate Ward ,

which he has represented since 1889 . As a member of the Parks , Improvement , and other Committees , Brother Bradshaw has found the opportunity to perform much useful work , and has initiated various schemes for the improvement of the city . He was also an active member of the Withington District Council ,

and recently spoke at a meeting held in this connection . His illness dates from last Autumn , when , on a visit to Blackpool , he caught a chill , from which even the Matlock hydropathic institutions could not free him . Of his business qualifications ( he was in the Manchester general trade in Turner Street ) we may speak from a thirty years' knowledge , and can affirm that

the courteousness which distinguished him in private and public life found a ready and sincere expression in his mercantile relations . As a Freemason Brother Bradshaw was so highly respected that a little over twelve months ago he attained to Provincial rank . At the time of his death he was connected with the Architect Lodge , No . 1375 , and had been re-elected as its Charity Eepresentative .

THE death is announced of Brother- Albert Bremer , of Edgbaston , a Brother well-known in local Masonic circles . He was initiated a member of the St . Paul ' s Lodge more than twenty years ago , and during the last ten years occupied the position of Treasurer of his Lodge . Brother Bremer was also

prominently identified with many organisations associated with the Hebrew community . For several years he was Treasurer on behalf of the Hebrew congregation . For some time he had suffered acutely from cancer , and his death occurred on Friday , 10 th inst ., at the age of sixty-six .

Masonry's Great Aim And Use.

MASONRY'S GREAT AIM AND USE .

Oration by Bro . William L Burdick , M . D ., at the laying of the corner-stone of the new Masonic Building at Boulder , Colorado ,

9 th March 1895 .

A N immemorial custom , common to all races and to all ages , decrees that -L ± - it is fitting , at gatherings of public interest or of wide-spreading social importance , to give voice to the sentiments that inspire or underlie the observance of the occasion . As far back as we can trace into antiquity , whether we examine into the

practices of barbarous tribes or of civilised communities , we find that at the celebratiou of both solemn and festive memorials , it is not only common , but also highly important for instruction , that meet answer be given to the question , " What mean Ye by this Service . " It is not , however , due to mere

custom alone , it is not merely to perpetuate a meaningless rite , that one by your invitation speaks here this day , but because you deeply realise and feel that this hour carries with it many lessons of duty and of trust , some of which , at this time , cannot in justice be left unsaid .

What thoughts of dignity and of grandeur should thrill our breasts as we gather here to-day . My Brothers , you are walking in the footsteps that the most venerable antiquity has trod , for of all existing Fraternal organisations known to man that of Freemasonry is the oldest and most widely known to fame . The origin of this Brotherhood is lost in the obscure , mythological

recesses of the past , but the principles which underlie our Order are eternal . It is not a vain conceit which prompts Masonry to date its birth with its chosen era of "A . L . "—Anno Lucis—in the year of light—for when first the Omnipotent Architect brought order out of chaos , turned its darkness into light , when the breath of the Infinite God called into being man , even then

was begun the erection of that spiritual temple , which the works of our hands and the practices of our lives have but fairly copied since . For on that day , upon the broad and everlasting foundation of truth were placed the cornerstones of temperance , fortitude , prudence , and justice . The columns of wisdom , strength , and beauty were set up , and in the firmament of earth ' s

starry dome was emblazoned the grand and culminating teachings of Masonry , the Unity , and the Fatherhood of God . Such was Masonic origin in spirit , and it matters little when man first formally ' enacted these principles into a ritual , for an institution having for its foundation Truth , and for its capstone God , can be rightfully said to have neither beginning nor end .

Historic research into the sociology of the ancients affords us no sound basis , although many Masons so suppose , for attributing the origin of our ceremonies and ritual to either the Eleusinian Mysteries of Egypt and Greece , to the sect of the Essenes in Judeea , or to the Roman Collegia .

Moreover , we have no reliable historic data to establish as fact what we have long held in tradition , that an ancient order similar to our own was an organised existence even at the time of the building of King Solomon's Temple .

Whence came , then , the rites and customs , that we so scrupulously observe ? Out of what is the mass of literature and tradition that has gathered around these landmarks ? The answer has been already given , for Blasonry has an origin far beyond all these ; its mission is , and came , from . God . As well might we try to trace civil or religious liberty to their primal

sources , as to endeavour to search out the inception of this Order . Freemasonry has developed through the slow and silent processes of time . Whatever it has observed commendable or advisable in ancient ritual or mystic lore , that it has adopted , until at the present time it embodies in its tenets many of those principles which man universally has recognised as

just and right . Thus it is that Masonry possesses something in common with all peoples and nations , both past and present , who by a psychical identity have associated themselves together for the preservation and the

propagation of truth . Kingdoms may rise and fall , dynasties may pass away ; but Freemasonry can never die . She maintains her sway , not by the power of the sword , but by the influence of those imperishable virtues , charity and fraternity .

Every Brother of our Order is familiar with the terms , " Operative " and " Speculative " Blasons . While we cannot lift the veil from the impenetrable and remote past , yet oi the immediate predecessors of our Blodern or Speculative Order , we have abundant information . The last of the Operative Masons were no other than the honoured Steinmetzen , of Germany , the

Brotherhood that adorned Europe with her marvellous and beautiful cathedrals of the Bliddle Ages . The association spread into other countries , and while architecture in its noblest aud mosfc glorious forms was the inspiration of their Order , yet to maintain and perpetuate the principles of their art , and to confine its privileges to their own members , they were organised into guilds and Lodges , each governed hy its chosen Blaster .

Only artisans of skill and merit were admitted to these unions , and for many generations they exclusively controlled the erection of those stately edifices which , to-day , remain as their monuments , the glory and the pride of a world . The cathedrals of Cologne , Strasburg , Vienna , Rhoims , Notre Dame , York , and St . Paul , together with others of hardly less note , wero

constructed through their influence . Instruction in their art was handed down to their chosen successors , while a religious ritual was observed in all their secret assemblies . From their customs wo derive the terms of Apprentice , Fellow , and Blaster , whilo their organisation at large was commonly known as the Craft . From them we also obtain much of the