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obedience to the powers that be . " Honour all men , love the Brotherhood , fear God , honour the king , " may be taken as the summing up of a Mason ' s profession . They " honour and obey " the Queen and all that are put in authority under her . They are enjoined never to countenance or support—much less

proposeany act which may have a tendency to subvert the peace and good order of society . They are ready to defend their Sovereign and their country " from sedition , privy conspiracy , and rebellion . " They are bound in one holy bond of Brotherhood to maintain and support those institutions of our land which have made England so great , so glorious , and so free , and it is a speaking

testimony to the loyalty of our Order that kings and princes have been from time immemorial promoters of the Art , and . " have not thought it derogatory to their high dignity to exchange the sceptre for the trowel , " and happy are we in having as our Grand Master one so worthy of all honour and respect as H . E . H . the Prince of Wales .

Again , Masonry is the greatest charitable institution in the world , and when I speak of charity I do not mean almsgiving alone . It is not a benefit society . No man joins , or ought to join , in order to benefit himself—but others . It abhors selfishness in all its forms , and we declare that a

wish to render ourselves more serviceable to our fellowcreatures is the sole motive by which we are influenced in seeking to be admitted to the Order . A Mason ' s charity should know no bounds , save that of prudence . Such in brief is Freemasonry in its principles . It insists on a belief in

the Great Architect of the Universe as an essential condition of membership—it recognises God in all its proceedings , it accepts the volume of the Sacred Law as its rule of life . By the doctrine contained in that Book of Books we are taught to believe in the wise dispensations of Divine Providence , which belief confirms our trust , strengthens our hope , and enlarges our charity , for

charity is the greatest of all virtues ; indeed it comprehends the whole , for when faith is lost in sight , and hope is realised to the full , still charity has a work to do—a work which will never end , but only be fuller and brighter and more perfect , for it will live on and on to the countless ages of eternity in the Grand Lodge above where the world ' s Great Architect lives and reigns for

evermore . But now comes the question : How are these grand principles , this pure morality , these noble sentiments , this exalted piety , being carried into practice ? I have said that Masonry is a religious institution , hence our presence here in God's House

to-day . I have told you its basis is the teaching of the Bible , where we read— " Pure religion and nndefiled is this : To visit the fatherless and widows , and to keep himself unspotted from the world . " This holy , this practical definition of religion is exemplified by Masons in their practice . That Masons do " visit

the fatherless and widows in their affliction " is no idle boast . As a body they exemplify their profession by their practice . I am unable to give you even an approximate estimate of the amount of money raised by Masons alone for charitable purposes ,

but one institution , and it is one of many , the Eoyal Benevolent Fund , dispensed £ 16 , 140 last year in grants to aged Freemasons and their widows . In the Girls and Boys Schools 540 children are boarded , fed , clothed , and educated at a cost of over £ 12 , 000 a year in each case .

Coming to our own institution in East Lancashire , it contributes nearly £ 800 a year to the same laudable objects . From these instances may be formed some idea of the extent of good which is done—and done unostentatiously—by Masons to their fellows in need through the thousands of Lodges established

m the world , and each Lodge is a dispenser of charity . I must now , my Brothers , bring the matter more closely home , and give my remarks a more personal application . I earnestly appeal to you , my Brethren of the Craft , to see to it that you ever bear in mind your solemn obligations to maintain in your own person ,

by your character , life , and conduct , those Masonic virtues you have promised to observe . It has been truly said of the Christian religion that its worst enemies are those of its own household . It is the un-Christian lives of professing Christians which causes men to scoff at Christianity , and I believe the same is true of Masonry .

One chief reason why our Order has been disparaged—and it has—and why it has been looked upon with suspicion—and it has—is because the uninitiated can only judge of its character by what they see in the character and conduct of those who belong to it . And can you blame them ? Every Mason has the honour

and credit of the Craft in his keeping . When one member suffers , then all the members suffer with him . Let us then note well the obligations under which we live . Let us ask ourselves : What am I doing , how am I living with reference to my profession as a God-fearing man ? Am I fulfilling in any degree the high and

holy purposes 1 have promised to fulfil ? If our principles are right ( and they undoubtedly are ) , seeing they are founded on the rock of eternal truth , then consistency , to say the least , demands from us that we make the practice of ourselves square with our profession . Then , but not till then , shall we stand before our

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fellows true men , upright and honourable in our intercourse with mankind . Eeligion never was intended to make our pleasures less , but the contrary . The practice of true Godliness does not turn people into stone , freeze up every smile and check every innocent amusement . It is not religion , but th 6 want of it , that causes people to be gloomy and miserable . The preacher dwelt at length upon this point , and concluded by strongly urging his hearers to live consistent Christian lives .

The musical arrangements were in the hands of Brother Tattersall ( organist and choirmaster of St . Peter ' s , Blackburn ) . A collection was taken in aid of the East Lancashire Systematic Masonic Educational and Benevolent Institution . The visitors were afterwards entertained to tea by the members of the Leopold Lodge , Bro . William Lord W . M . thanking the Brethren for their attendance . —" Eossendale Gazette . "

The necessity for consecrating rooms to be used for Masonic purposes has lately received the attention of our contemporary " The Mallet , " in his column in the " Glasgow Evening News , " and he lays it down , on the diction of " an authority who sits among those in high places , " that all rooms to be used solely for Masonic purposes should be consecrated , but if to be open for letting purposes to all and sundry consecration should not take place .

No doubt the Masonic custom of refraining from any active canvass with the view of attracting new members appears very strange to outsiders , one of whom writes as follows in the " Orcadian : "

A word to the Masonic Brethren . What has become of Masonry in Orkney ? Have the Kirkwall Kilwinning and Mercantile Marine Lodges

raffled their blankets , and for years , so far as I have heard , retired under paddock stools to mourn over the extravagance of former times , in the shape of generous entertainments and social hilarity ? The Masonic Order , being a secret one , perhaps outsiders have no right to know of their ongoings , and it looks like it at present so far as the Orcadian Lodges are concerned . If Masonry is a good thing , why not occasionally turn out in procession in full

regalia , have a pic-nic during the fine weather , and encourage people to join the ranks ? In that case I even might make application , although at the risk of being black-balled . No good thing can thrive in the dark . The brilliant display recently made by the Craft in Edinburgh , when they laid the foundation-stone of the North Bridge with Masonic honours , will be ever memorable in the history of our country .

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