Conditions Of Future Prosperity For The Masonic Institution.

to the importance of logic and intelligent reasoning in passing upon great subjects put before the mind , and to architecture , painting , music , with other branches of learning and accomplishment that appeal especially to tho mind and the imagination . But theso primary suggestions are not followed out in any subsequent lessons to the young Craftsman ; nor is he much appealed to after he has

entered upon his Masonic career to use his mentp 1 powers in the way of study on any of the grand themes named . Freemasonry is a system , and under the forms and practices of its present organisation , does not greatly stimulate its

members to investigate truth , to acquiro knowledge , or become specially interested in the arts and sciences . Might it not properly attempt something more of suggestion and

influence , perhaps of practical teaching , - n this direction ? Mig ht it not become more of a school of intelligence than now ? What harm would come if lectures and discussions

pertaining to the subjects named were arranged for in the Lodge—if papers were read before the members by eminent specialists in Science—and considerable more attention given to awakening and quickening the intellectual nature ? Freemasonry can hardly hope to live and

thrive in the twentieth century merely as a club ; it must have , as justly belongs to its character—the expression of its true genius—more abundant ministries ; those that provide for the mind as well as the body . " If I had but two loaves of bread , I would sell one of them and buy hyacinths to feed mv soul . " was the declaration of one whom the

world has pronounced exceeding wise , and his declaration is at least suggestive of the proposition affirmed that Freemasonry can flourish most efficiently only as it emphasises and presses into use its intellectual ministries . 2 . It must do more and better benevolent work . This is not saying that Freemasonry has not rendered a grand

service in the way of enlightened philanthropy in the past . Its works of practical charity in feeding the hungry , clothing the naked , burying the dead , educating orphans and relieving distress , go far beyond any commutation that may be made of its expenditure of means .

There has been personal help as well as institutional , according to what are the teachings with which every intelligent Craftsman is familiar . But with all that has boon done for charity ' s sake there is still a demand for

increased service . Freemasonry must go well to the front as a working force in the relief of human suffering , or it will not prosper according to what are its possibilities .

Within every Grand Lodge jurisdiction there ought to be an Asylum , a home for aged brethren who may be reduced to poverty , and for the wives or widows of such ; and there ought also to be a school for children left in

destitution , where they may be cared for and trained iu thc things that make for worthy living . If in any jurisdiction there are happily so few indigent brethren , or those belonging to the families of such a class , that there seems

no . special call for the home and school , still let these ministries be provided , and so far as possible given to tho publ- ' c , in accordance with the prompting of that universtl benevolence whioh every Mason is taught to respect .

8 . The most vitil essential of Masonic prosparit y is that the Institution shall stand for the law of practical righteousness . Freemusoniy rests upon a moral basis . It inculcates moral obligations ; it imposes moral restraints ;

it places full in view before its members and before the world a high standard of moral excellence . Its decadence will come only when theso principles and rules are forgotten or ignored . Just now , with the tides of

intemperance , licentiousness , and selfishness , running with so much force in society , there is a special call that Freemasonry in its organic life should adhere to tho law of practical righteousness , and count no man a ( run Mason , or worthy

of its honours , who does not rigidly observe thc moral law . It must make the binding fovea of its great princip les to bo felt by all who bear its name or represent its powers and interests . Selfish aud base men , the

indolent , undeserving , sonsn ; il and vile , must be kept without its lines ; or if perchance any of this class gain admission they must be quickly reformed or sent to tlie rcir . Only thus wiU Freemasonry become in practice

what it is n name—a great moral institution ; only thus will it obseive one of thc moat important conditions ou which its future prosperity depends . —Freemason * Repository .

Notices Of Meetings.

NOTICES OF MEETINGS .

FRIENDSHIP LODGE , No . 277 . ON Sunday afternoon , the 18 th inst ., a special sorvioe , in celebratiou of the Centenary of this Lodge , of the Province of East Lancashire , was hold in Sr . James ' s Church , Oldham , by permission of the Vicar , the Rev . T . L . Knapp . The brethren met at the Freemasons' Hall , Union-street , at two o ' clook , and assembled iu the different rooms , aa follows : —Tylers , Entered Apprentices , Follow

Crafts , and Master Masons met in the billiard-room ; Ofhoera ( Wardens , Deacons , & c . ) in tho Lodge-room ; PaBt Masters and Worshipfnl Masters in the card-room ; and Provincial Officers in the Committee-room . Bro . W . Edwards P . M . Marshal arranged the procession , whioh left the hall at 2-30 . The following are the Officers of

the Lodge of Friendship for the current year , most of whom were present-. —Bros . John Greaves W . M ., 0 . Mattinson I . P . M ., Joseph Braddook S . W ., Abraham Clegg J . W ., J . 0 . Jelly , M . A ., Chaplain , Charles Watson Treasurer , Thomas Bailey Secretary , John Buckley S . D ., Ralph Holden J . D ., H . L . Hollingworth Dir . of Cera ., F . Lawton

Stand . Br ., J . Clafton Organist , T . H . Duckworth Pursuivant , J . C . Varley , J . Whiplech , John Greaves jun ., W . Wilson Stewards , S . A . Thorp Tyler . Most of the Past Masters of the Lodge , of whom a list is appended , were also present , via .: —Bros . John Greavea P . P . G . S . of Wks ., Henry L . Hollingworth P . P . G . T ., Joseph Braddook ,

Henry Thomas P . P . S . G . D ., Joseph Cromptou Lees P . P . S . G . W ., Joseph Clafton P . P . G . O ., Isaac Prockter , Abraham Clegg P . P . S . G . W ., John Buckley , Ralph Holden , Thomas H . Duckworth , Chas . Watson , and Bernulf C . Mattinson . There were also in the procession Bros . T . Stevenson , C . V . Haworth , A . J . Hawortb , and Represents .

tives from the Imperial George , the Albert ( Shaw ) , the Minerva ( Ashton ) , and the Candour ( Uppermill ) Lodges . Altogether the brethren in the procession numbered about 170 . The banners of the three Oldham Lodges were carried before the respective Worshipful Masters , and the line of route to the ohuroh was vi & Union-street ,

Bottom o'th Moor , aud Hnddersfield-road . Special hymns , & c , in connection with the Centenary celebrations were used , the anthem being "Blessed be the God and Father . " The preacher waa the Rev . E . Bigoe Bagot , LL . B . ( St . Mary ' s , Beswiok ) , P . M . and Prov . Grand Chaplain E . L ., who delivered an impressive and eloquent address from the 3 rd verse of the 16 th Psalm .

" All my delight ia upon the saints that arc in the earth aud upon such as excel in virtue . " In the course of his remarks the rev . gentleman said that the world presented a sad spectacle . When morality wa 8 depreciated , and the newspapers day by day contained the unsavoury records of

impurity , dishonesty , and vice ; when order was divided , and submission to anything or anybody was coming to be disregarded ai antagonistic to freedom and intelligence ; when ancient loyalty waa rapidly disappearing under the euphemism of" modern independence "—is it a time to set at naught that which still , as throughout

many generations , sets forth the beauty , power and liberty of discipline , obedience , and sutordination ? In days when the storing of politioal and religious controversies were raging so loudly , when distinctions of social rank and position must make many strangers to each other who were one in heart and hope , is it not something to

find a place where these considerations do not enter—a neutral ground where we can meet in that kindly spirit of friendly interest which does not sanction the intrusion of one uncharitable thought , or necessitate the compromise of one sincere conviction ? Masonry was no creed to supplant or supplement Christianity . It expresses the

conviction of the human heart from the earliest ages of primitive history—the voice , as it were , of one crying in the wilderness for light , sympathy , order , and power , shaping its ideal by some graphic analogy which seems to express most adequately what it has at heart . But Masonry did more than this . As an independent witness it gave

wonderful and remarkable support to the great Catholic dootrinea of the Christian Church . To believe in God aa the author aud source of all created things ; to fear His name , to honour His worship , and to work righteoasness , was the design aud object of the Craft . Faith in the Great Architect ; the efficacy aud duty of

prayer ; the power and inspiration of the Holy Scriptures , were all witnessed to by the principles of Masonry . We , as Masons , wore reminded that to the just and upright death had no terrors , and that in every human frame there lives the principles and germ of immortality . There was a divine dissatisfaction in the heart of maD ,

and the Bible tolla us that all man ' s misery , all the immense ennui of life , all the wretchedness of satiety , which makes man from time to time—and now more than ever—ask the question , " Ia life worth thc lining F" is only the sublime discontent of the soul , which waa made to find its rest iu God , and therefore cannot rest in the finite .

St . Paul insists on all honour and glory to God when he vindicates His attributes in the magnificent burst , " Oh ! the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God ; how unsearchable are His judgment and His ways past finding ont . " Free masons place the being- arid attributes of God in the forefront of all

their proceedings : they never meet without paying homage to His name ; and when we , as Masons , were disposed to pay court and honour to thoso invested with high position , and to bend beforo them with gratitude for their work , we were reminded that honour belongeth to God alone , and exhorted ever to

exolaim , " All glory to the Most High ! " All good men ought to be eager to establish aud secure upon more firm ground a great society , which was essentially of a religious character , and wau a great and important guarantee for social order , morality , and

largoheartednesa . The magnificent benevolent and educational institutions of Masonry wero the secret and method of itasncceBS , and the powerful magnet which attracted to its ranks all grades of society and sectional characteristics of mankind , from the future King of England and liia sou to the humbly subject of the Oueeu . The powers that