New York's Auspicious Day.

Aa soon as the speedy extinguishment of tho debt was foreaeen , and before that task waa actually accomplished , measures were taken for the selection of a site for the Asylum , the home of the destitute brother , the widow and the orphan , the erection of which was the ultimate purpose

so long and steadily in view . That tho means might be quickly forthcoming many ladies of the cities of New York and Brooklyn united with the brethren in holding a fair , in the Masonic Hall in the city of New York , in the months of November and December 1887 ; and this undertaking

was upon so large a scale , and was so successfully conducted , that it yielded a profit of more than seventy-six thousand dollars in money , which was delivered to the Graud Maater and by him held until the completion of the

payment of tho debt , when it waa paid to tho Truatees of the Hall and Aaylum Fund , to bo by them used in the erection of the building whose foundation stone wo deposit to-day .

Ungrateful should we be , indeed , did wo in this happy moment forget that generous labour , that noble offering of thoae so near our hearts , and , as we proceed from year to year with this endeavour , our labours will be softeued and sanctified by tho thought that they , too , have been partakers in our toil .

With the debt paid , no time was lost in proceeding to the selection of a site for the Asylum . Many such were offered by brethren aud citizens in different parta of the State , and many of these were eminently beautiful and desirable . After long deliberation , the spot upon which

we to-day assemble waa finally selected , and it ia earnestly fco be hoped that the judgment of the thousands who to-day for the first time behold this scene will approve , and that the experience of the future will vindicate the wisdom

of tho choice . At the session of the Grand Lodge in 1889 , the selection was approved , and the Trustees of tho Hall and Asylum Fund wore empowered to acquire title to the property , which waa shortly afterward done .

This tract of land , embracing about one hundred and sixty acres , was valued by its owner , a respected member of the Craft , at the sum of seventy-five thousand dollars , but was conveyed by him to the Fraternity upon payment

of two-thirda of that amount , of which thirty thousand dollars was raised and contributed by the brethren and citizens of Ufcica , tho balance being paid by tho Trustees from their own funds .

Ibis brief enumeration of somo of tho principal events of the history of tho Hall and Aaylum Fund brings us to tho present moment , when with our great property in the city of New York entirely freed from debt , and ita revenues

perpetually assured fco charitable purposes , with this beautiful site completely our own , with money in our treasury more than sufficient to complete and furnish tho stately edifice now begun , wo have assembled to-day aud laid the corner-stone of this Asylum .

Tho published Transactions of fcho Grand Lodge for 1870 record in simple worda that " The Graud Lodge formed iu procession , and , accompanied by twelve thousand of fcho Craffc , repaired to Sixth Avenue and Twenty-third Street ; , and the Grand Master laid the corner stono of the Masonic Hall in ample form . "

Large as was the gathering , important as was that proceeding , how much more inspiring ia tho present moment ! The twelve thousand brethren who attended afc the laying of the corner-stone of the Hall mainly resided in the cities of

Brookl yn and New York , and their assemblage , while great and striking , bore distinctly a local character . Tho vast concourse uow assembled upon this spot ia composed mainly of those who have travelled long distances from

every portion of tho Sfcafco to participate in theso proceedings . Every district , every county , is numerously represented ; and in so general a gathering wo see how warm the tie which binds the brethren of tho lakes fco thoso who dwell b y tho oceantho craftsmen of fcho mountains to thoso

, who labour in the cities , and whioh from this day shall bind fche Cit y o £ TJtica moro closely to us all In this fraternal commingling of no groat a number of fcho Craffc wo seo justified our hope ancl belief that the

labours of recent yeara havo bound us all moro closoly together , and thafc tho seventy-sovon thousand Masons aililiated in our Lodgea stand to-day in sonfcinient , iu feeling and in purpose united as one man .

The sight of so many familiar faces -brings to the mind a thought of those who are nofc here but who for long years toiled to bring about tho event of thia day . The venerable Grand Maater who laid the corner-stone of fcho Hall twenty-

New York's Auspicious Day.

one years ago is still active in the Craft , and many are with us to-day who for a longer period have boon staunch and true and tried . But of thoso who took part in tho beginning , all aro gone ; and of tho leaders through iti early stages fow remain . The list , of gifted and

distinguished brethren now departed , who gavo to the Masonic Hall and Asylum Fund years of toil and sacrifice , is too long to bo here enumerated . Ungracious it would sejm to mention ono and not all . But in this hour of triumph we turn with grateful recollection to tho thought of thoae

hearts of oak , thoae resolute and loyal brethren , thoae leaders , dead and gone , but never to be forgotten , by whose precept and example the Craft was held stedfast to thia lofty purpose , and but for whose labours our presout gathering wonld never have taken place !

From this hour we shall watch with pride and interest the progress of the stately building whose design ia depicted npon the medal worn to-day upon so many breasts •aud we shall hope that at an early day the Craft may again ba summoned to attend ita dedication .

Then indeed will the great work of practical charity begin . Then shall at laafc our doors be opened to receive the destitute brother and the widow , and , holiest task and highest privilege of all , to shelter from the world the orphans of our brethren , rearing tbem to lives of usefulness and worth .

But with the opening of tho Aaylum will come the moat difficult problem yet before us , embraced in the questions relating to its system and management . And the perplexities to be connected with that subject we should strive from thia time forward to realize and prepare for . In the

past the effort has been to accumulate the means to establish and maintain this institution . In the future our duty will be to meet the responsibility imposed upon us by the means

we now poaseaa in such manner aa to prove that our cherished product ia no Utopian dream , but that it can be made a great and permanent and practical means of serving the Almighty and of promoting humanity .

We are cheered by the knowledge that in England , the mother country , whence proceeded the authority now vested in the Grand Lodge of New York , and in some of our sister jurisdictions within the United States , there already exist institutions which the Craft haa established

and is maintaining wifch groat usefulness and d ' mtinguished success , similar iu spirit to that which wo uro founding ; and wo believe with firmest faith that the Divine power

which has hithortu removed from our path bo many obstacles , each in turn apparently overwhelming , will continue ao to guide us that success will attend our efforts aud thafc our labours will receive tho approbation of

mankind . So broad ia tho hold for Masonic Charity thafc oven the largo means now afc disposal will suffice to satisfy only a small portion of the just demands upon tho benevolence of the Fraternity . It is therefore greatly to be hoped that

those moaua will iu thc future become largely increased . But this can only be looked for from tho freewill offerings fco be made from time to time by the members of the Craft . L- ' or in purchasing our freedom from debt it was in effect

determined thafc no new tax should be laid upon the brethren in connection with this undertaking , and the revenues of tho fund can only bo augmented through tho single but by far broader and deeper channel of their voluntary benefactions .

We lay to-day tho cornor-stone of a single building , yefc hope thafc in tho nofc far distant future others also will arise upon this spacious site . But wo cannot realise too

plainly that tho proportions which this institution ia in future to attain mnsfc depend mainly upon the wisdom and good judgment which attends the use of fche revenues now created , and with which its career will begin .

Those , therefore , who stand at fche head of the Fraternity , the brethren entrusted with the administration of this

Fund , will henceforward stand charged wifch responsibilities even graver than in the past . Loyally will we support them and uphold their hands , for in them must bo placed our reliance for tho provident application of fche revenues which have been founded as the result of a struggle

extending nearly fifty years . With intelligent judgment the Fraternity will viow the management of this great trust , aud wheu it shall be made

plain to them fchat the work here being accomplished is real and practical , and as great and as useful as wo hope and intend it to be , believe me , brethren , there will scarcely bo a limit to tho liberality of their gifts , or to the generosity