A Dissertation On Charity.

men who cnrp and cavil at the " unnecessary expenditure " which tho banquets involve . Bnt those who know the inner working of tbe Craft are also aware that this expenditure , so far from impoverishing tho funds that are raised for charitable purposes , actually proves a most potent

and nseful incentive to large-heartedness on the part o those who spend an occasional honr of happy amenih " across tho walnut ami the wine . " Ask any Charity Steward or special pleader in behalf of any of out Benevolent Institutions if ever his appeal has been

unsuccessful when addressing brethren who have " in jolliest friendship met , " and his reply would be that under such genial circumstances the heartstrings and the purse , strings , too , of those who are addressed relax , and the result is a very appreciable acquisition to the funds so

much needed for benevolent purposes . If , therefore , an inquiry could be made by tho powers that be into all the various minutia ) of the internal economy of Masonic Lodges , it would bo found that—barring the few inadvertencies which attach to all mundane institutions—the

funds so gladly and voluntarily subscribed for the purposes which form the aim and life of the Craft , are honestly ami judiciously administered , whilst the extent of private charity and mutual self-help is practically unfathomable . We have casually referred to the City Companies'

Commission as being the most recent example in whose light we can produce a reflex of the inestimable advantages of the Order which we humbly endeavour to represent . In other words , the enquiries—the results of which have so

recently been published—serve as a convenient peg on which to hang a few remarks with regard to our own particular and beloved Fraternity . Whilst we do not venture on any political predication , and are entirely unbiassed on the matter of " reform" in connection with

the Liveries of the City of London , who , iu onr opinion , have done a vast amount of good in the direction of charity and education , we admit that it would be a questionable advantage if these endowments and sources of revenue were swallowed up in the centralising maw of the

Government . For ourselves , wo have no fear of such a test being applied to onr Masonic financial arrangements . Our endowments are few , and the mainspring of our substance is in the flow of constant and undying generosity . From this inexhaustible source may we hope long to receive the

wherewithal to do even greater good in the future than in the past ; and we are content that men should mingle , if they choose , in merriment " within the limits of becoming mirth , " so long as the feast of reason and the flow of soul keep open the channel of true and uugrndging

benevolence . No Government can regulate the power , the largeness , or the constancy of Masonic charity ; no human power can regulate that brotherly love which incites to

relief and truth ; and in this , as in every other respect , Freemasonry stauds unique and unapproachable amongst all the institutions of the world for singleness of purpose , unsnllied benevolence , and universal love for human kind .

Symbols.

SYMBOLS .

RELIEF . —Of necessity " brotherly love " covers much of the true principle of " relief , " hence we cannot speak of that without touching this . To relieve the distressed is a well-established duty , but does not always imply love ; for many times one helps an enemy without any feeling of love , or a stranger who has no claim upon

the affection of the helper . To our brethren it is , however , a duty of obligation , in which case we have no ri ght to consider any personal relations . " To soothe the unhappy , to sympathise with them in their misfortunes , to

compassionate their miseries , and to restore peace to their troubled minds , is the great aim we have in view . On this basis we form our friendships and establish our connections . " Hence " relief " and " brotherly love " go as twin brothers in our dealing with men .

TRUTH . —In man ' s corrupted state truth is not an attri bute of his nature , but of his higher moral education . To screen self from punishment the child , and ofttimes the man , is tempted to untruth , but the higher education that

teaches the value of truth leads him to the statement of truth , at the risk of punishment , rather than the loss of confidence by the statement of falsehood . No semblance of untruth was seen until the first pair found that they had

Symbols.

incurred divine disapproval , and fears of punishment were entertained . " Truth is a divino attribute , and the foundation of every virtue " It is the first Masonic lesson . Our whole lives should be governed bv it ; under its influence

hypocrisy and deceit aro banished . To be truthful iu all thing's is to inspire cmfhlenoe ; to have all men trust us , and depend upon what wo say . But we must act truth as well as speak it . There fire circumstances where the nod of the head , or a silent tongtw may convey a wrong

impression which may be as false as to speak plain words that may result in injury . The three main points of this virtue lie in being true to self , man , and God . Many are the instances of being true to man bnt untrue to self ; but no man can be true to God without being true to self . Though

we have none of the divine within us , yet our relations to God are very near , beeanse wo must render to Him an account of our life actions . For this He has given us the care of many important matters relating to self , and to be untrue to self is to violate some of these most important obligations .

Truth embodies notions as well as words , and means that wo are to conduct ourselves towards each other as we feel .

To appear a friend and to be at heart an enemy ; to Bay we wish prosperity when we secretly wish adversity ; to praise when we disapprove at heart ; to encourage advancement when we try to pull down ; to give a cordial welcome when we desire the absenco of the intruder ; to assent to a

statement when we disbelieve it , and a thousand such adverse things are evidences of untruth , and neither a true Mason or Christian can be guilty of any of them . What wo are at heart shonld be the guide of actions and words . Do we

dislike the frequent caller who disturbs our labour ? We need not deal in nnkindness nor impolite words , but a gentle reserve ought to tell the real state of our heart . In nil other matters a manly state of feeling should set the truthfulness of our hearts at rest to the minds of all others .

To be a true man is to be trnthful in all things , and to be truthful in all affairs is to be a true man . TEMPERANCE . —Like " brotherly love , " " temperance " is not confined within any narrow limits . Usually it applies to the use of intoxicating beverages . It is misrepresented

when it is made to mean that to be temperate we may deal moderately in any given vice . Applied to things that are necessary , it means , that with them we must deal only as necessity demands . Applied to vice or anything wrong or injurious , it means abstinence . It may be hard to draw the

line because of the great nnmber of things that must be named , and it would draw us into metaphysical questions that are unnecessary here . In one person intemperance in a given necessity would be temperance in another . In a vice moderation in one person would be destruction to

another . As applied in a Masonic , Christian or moral way , it is " that due restraint upon our affections and passions which renders the body tame and governable , and frees the mind from the allurements of vice . " We are " thereby taught to avoid excess , or contracting any licentious or

vicious habit , the indulgence of which might lead us to disclose some of those valuable secrets which we have promised to conceal and never reveal , " hence a very important thing in Masonry . In the Church no man can be intemperate in any such habit until he has lost his piety ,

for the religion that produces piety restrains from vicious habit or thought . The same may well be said of Masonry , for no man who adheres to the principles taught in his Lodge can ever give way to any unholy habit . However great a worker ; however great the Masonic knowledge ;

however valuable his work to the Institution in any of its branches , whenever a man has given way to a vicious habit he has ignored . Masonic principles , and to ignore these is no longer' to be a true Mason . Though not embodied in the instruction of Masonry , at this point , yet

temperance involves the proper exercise of our time for ourselves and others . Overreaching ambition , overworking ancl underresting our bodies , overburdening the mind with cares , and many other things where we overdraw upon the

powers of nature , are manifestly intemperate actions . So also with anger , envy , malice , aud any undue exercise of that character of the mental elements , is intemperate and should belong to that class which we should prohibit .

FORTITUDE . —This is not merely bravery upon the field of battle , where , in the conflict of arms , men are to meet the cannon ball or the sabra thrust , but to that character of mental battle which meets all men at some point of life , and is needed in every avenue of human action or thought .