Presentation At Durham.

PRESENTATION AT DURHAM .

ON Wednesday evening , 19 th inst , there was a large and representative gathering of Brethren at the Masonic Hall , Old Elvet , Durham , at the meeting of the Norman Lodge , No . 1334 , the occasion being the presentation of a portrait and an illuminated address to Brother William Gray ,

Deputy Mayor of Durham , P . M . P . P . G . StdB . P . P . G . l . W . for

ten years 1 reasurer of the Lodge . The portrait , which is a large one in carbon , and measures 26 in . by ibin ., was executed by Mr . Bell of Blackett Street , Newcastle , and is a good likeness of Bro . Gray . It represents our Brother attired in . Court dress and wearing the Mayoral

robes and gold chain of Office , Bro . Gray having occupied the Mayoralty of Durham City in 1899 . At the toot of the photograph , which is enclosed in a handsome oak frame , is a shield bearing an appropriate inscription . The illuminated address , which is a very handsome piece of work , was executed

by Brr > . A . Brook , of the Marquess of Granby Lodge . The bordering is very fine , and within the scroll work are cleverly introduced small shields bearing at the top and bottom of the

address a portrait of Bro . Gray and the City Arms respectively , and on either side representations of the Past Master ' s and Junior Warden ' s jewels . The whole work reflects very much credit upon Bro . Brock .

The text of the address sets forth that the portrait and address are presented to Bro . Gray as a mark of the esteem in which he is held . The many prominent Offices he had filled both as a public man and as a Freemason , and the brilliant manner in which he had discharged the onerous duties attached

to each , in themselves bore eloquent testimony not only to his ability , but to the respect and affection borne him by his fellowmen , more especially his Brethren in Freemasonry . The address was signed on behalf of the subscribers by Bro . T . J . R . Hindmarsh W . M ., Bro . T . Laidler I . P . M , Bro . Colonel Rowlandson P . M . P . P . G . J . W , Bro . R . W . Salkeld S . W ., Bro .

R . Tyson J . W ., and Bro . R . Hauxwell P . M . P . P : G . St . Br . Sec

to the Presentation Committee . The presentation was made at the conclusion of the ordinary Lodge business by Bro . Colonel Rowlandson , who spoke of the great services Bro . Gray had rendered not only

to the Norman Lodge , but to Freemasonry generally , and mentioned that only at the beginning of the present year Bro . Gray laid the Lodge under further obligations by the presentation of a handsome banner .

Bro . Gray ' s health was enthusiastically toasted , and Bro . Gray responded in an appropriate and feeling manner . In acknowledging the presentation , he said that was not the first time he had been honoured by the Norman Lodge . During the quarter of a century he had been connected with the Lodge

he had been the recipient of a long succession of honours . Bro . Colonel Rowlandson , at the latter ' s installation , called him ( Bro . Gray ) out from the " wall flowers , " and ever since that time he had not been without a collar of Office , nor had he failed in doing his duty to help forward the objects of the

Order . The Masonic Order , he believed , contained those elements and principles which if practised and carried out by the world at large would soon end all those strifes and

perplexities which existed and had existed since the world began . Other toasts and harmony followed , a very successful evening being spent . The portrait of Bro . Gray will occupy a permanent place in the Lodge room .

Masonic Sermon.

MASONIC SERMON .

THE following was delivered b y Rev . Bro . A . C . Ward , to Atlanta Lodge , No . 59 ( U . S . A . ) , and the Masons of Atlanta , at Sixth Baptist Church , Atlanta , Ga . Gen . i ., 3 . — " God said , Let there be light : and there was light . " Our text is the beginning of time on earth . As to

how lonp- this earth and all created things about us lay sleeping in the shroud of darkness and inactivity it is necessary for us to conjecture . Suffice for us to know that m the fullness of time while darkness v / as upon the face of

the deep God said light be and light was . From that day to the present man has ever been in search of more light . Born into an existence which is surrounded by mystery , we are constantly being overtaken and made to stumble in our blundering and mistakes . Like a blind man we know not how near we may be to the edge of a fearful pit-fall . We only know that for the present moment our feet seem to rest

Masonic Sermon.

on solid ground . We can only blindly feel our way , never knowing what a day or an hour may bring forth . Life is a game . An ill move may bring defeat , while the slightest gain , a single word or act , may ensure a victory . Our knowledge of to-day may become the ignorance of to-morrow . The

very things which we pass judgment upon to-day may be the acts which we ourselves may be guilty of the next day . We can never grasp a certain point in human knowledge and say , " this I know ! " We know absolutely nothing as to our origin , our destiny . In the providence of God our lives

are to be controlled not by sight or knowledge but by faith . Since every star differeth from another star , no bubble on the ocean , or grain of sand on the sea shore , or leaf in the forest has its counterpart , since facility and capacity differ by circumstances , there can be no hope for impossible unity ,

In die congress of opinion , therefore , we must yield concessions to our fellow man . No man knows all things . It often requires more wisdom to say " I do not know , " than

to say " I am right . ' Our estimate of the right and wrong we see in others is made up from what we ourselves are . In all our decisions the felicitous words of the great law-giver applv , " Let him that is without sin cast the first stone . "

Masonry , under whose auspices we meet this morning , is but little understood . It has existed since the days of the dim past , its head is crowned with the glory of age and antiquity , but its tenets and principles are such that they will never grow old or become out of date . At times in the

past it has suffered at the hands of its enemies , while at others it has been popular with the high born and rich . Today it stands forth like a mighty army of men who form an invincible foe of many of the evils incident to human life .

It wars against vice in all its forms , and it is ever ready to uphold the right , regardless of party , sect or earthly power . It recognises the good in moral , intellectual and spiritual man . Such lessons does our Fraternity teach , such principles does it uphold .

Turning now to our text , we first recognise in God the source of Light . There are some things we can live without . We might exist without darkness . We can readily see how life would be improved upon if all trouble and sorrow were forever banished from human contact . I freely confess

that earth itself would be a paradise if only sin with all its attendant evils were obliterated from its boundaries . These are things we can well dispense with , but while we can do without these , light is one of the many things we must have .

Like the air we oreathe it is necessary to our very existence . It is God-given and like all that comes from God it is good . Our first intimation of spiritual light is through the word of God . It was this word of God that was made flesh and

dwelt among us in the form of the son of God . He has revealed the light Through this Lloly Book we have revealed God ' s law , God's light and God ' s love . Without this book we are in very blackness of darkness . Without it we grope on in blindness and despair , with never a hope

that the future may give a happier lot . Without the light of the Bible we are lost in a maze of doubt and spend our lives wandering to and fro upon the earth in labyrinth of mystery that will end in eternal sorrow and ruin . Even our greatest difficulties , no doubt , arise from our desire to

thoroughly know and comprehend God . Many , because they cannot attain to this full knowledge , leave God out of their calculations altogether . Such persons only reach the level of the beasts of the field . They know not , neither do they seek anything beyond the present . Given the present

gratifications of passion and appetite , they simply wait for the demand to arise that the same passions or appetites may be satisfied again . A whole life thus spent is a life thrown away , never to be of service to anyone but self . In self , man will never find anything beyond self . Man , as a man ,

never will be greater than man . Ignorance will never become knowledge , Darkness will never be light . Ignorance may and often does give place to knowledge . Darkness can be displaced and driven out by light , so man can step out of self into a divinity of life and acts that are ennobling .

For this God gave us the light of reason , and a knowledge of what is right and what is wrong . Morality , through the light of God applied to man ' s life , can be set aside and immortality will take its place . This wonderful and desirable

change cannot be brought about by human agency alone . It must come from God . Our beloved Order recognises this great principle , and to God it gives the honour of being the source of all light . Light is the source of life . The question is often asked