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Article THE FESTIVAL. ← Page 7 of 10 →
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The Festival.
assembled together . For what purpose ? To oppose it , —oh no—( cheers ) , but to help its founders to carry out as far as possible the magnanimous intention of charity—and they used their best endeavours to amalgamate a portion of the active principle of their own longcherished and highly successful institution with the new project—reserving only astipulation that the Building Fund should be guaranteed by Grand Lodgeuntil time and circumstance should determine the
pe-, riod for erecting the Temple itself . Could unselfish generosity go farther ?—( great cheering ) . It was much to be regretted that an offer so calculated to heal all difference in opinion was not accepted . It was still more to be deplored that the rejection of it was accompanied by a suggestion , that the whole of the funds might be given to the new scheme , but that the proposal for the Asylum Building Fund could not be entertained . Ohyes ! they would take
, the money of the Asylum —( great laughter ) and would leave the Subscribers to incur the stigma of faithlessness and dishonour that would attend such treachery . It was not declaring too much to say that by the rejection of the offer , the principle of true charity was violated ; and by the shameless suggestion to give all the money , the unanimous recommendation of Grand Lodge in favour of the Asylum was offensively disregarded .
But the principle of the Asylum has triumphed ; it has reproved an inane declaration that it would injure ihe schools ; it has corrected an anomaly for , lo ! another new charity is now deemed necessary . It is to be hoped that same inanity may not mar the prospects of the new institution , which but for the Asylum would never have had its being —( hear , hear , and cheers ); a great fault had been committed , where a high-morality would have been more becoming , and when something like public reproof threatened , it was found that the poet ' s words conveyed a useful
hint—¦ Oh , let us have him , for his silver hairs Will purchase us a good opinion »' It may he well said " The charity covereth the sin "—( loud cheers ) . So that tbe Aged Masons' cause with another name , became useful to its former opponents . How true it is that * ' Time and the hour run through the roughest day . " But there was good in all thingsand it was to he hoped that all
, Brethren would unite in observing the Masonic charge , to imitate what was good , and to amend in themselves what might be faulty in others . The Asylum and the new Institution stood in the relative position of parent and child—the parent charity would do nothing to prejudice the child—it was expected the younger would do nothing to offend the parent —( hear , hear ) . For if it did , the parent might find it necessary to reprove , with calmness , and always with caution .
The world was too apt to palter with old age , forgetting that those whom the All-wise spared so long , demand the highest respect . It was well observed , that " Age bas a dignity which no human distinction can bestow . " The aged man was the ancestor of his own mind , the traditional chronicler of , to us , a past world , and lived in the present , the observer of growing time , while the spirit within him , partakingof an almost superhuman intelligence , enables him to contemplate the glories of another world . Let not his rags be sneered at—they VOL . ix . E n
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Festival.
assembled together . For what purpose ? To oppose it , —oh no—( cheers ) , but to help its founders to carry out as far as possible the magnanimous intention of charity—and they used their best endeavours to amalgamate a portion of the active principle of their own longcherished and highly successful institution with the new project—reserving only astipulation that the Building Fund should be guaranteed by Grand Lodgeuntil time and circumstance should determine the
pe-, riod for erecting the Temple itself . Could unselfish generosity go farther ?—( great cheering ) . It was much to be regretted that an offer so calculated to heal all difference in opinion was not accepted . It was still more to be deplored that the rejection of it was accompanied by a suggestion , that the whole of the funds might be given to the new scheme , but that the proposal for the Asylum Building Fund could not be entertained . Ohyes ! they would take
, the money of the Asylum —( great laughter ) and would leave the Subscribers to incur the stigma of faithlessness and dishonour that would attend such treachery . It was not declaring too much to say that by the rejection of the offer , the principle of true charity was violated ; and by the shameless suggestion to give all the money , the unanimous recommendation of Grand Lodge in favour of the Asylum was offensively disregarded .
But the principle of the Asylum has triumphed ; it has reproved an inane declaration that it would injure ihe schools ; it has corrected an anomaly for , lo ! another new charity is now deemed necessary . It is to be hoped that same inanity may not mar the prospects of the new institution , which but for the Asylum would never have had its being —( hear , hear , and cheers ); a great fault had been committed , where a high-morality would have been more becoming , and when something like public reproof threatened , it was found that the poet ' s words conveyed a useful
hint—¦ Oh , let us have him , for his silver hairs Will purchase us a good opinion »' It may he well said " The charity covereth the sin "—( loud cheers ) . So that tbe Aged Masons' cause with another name , became useful to its former opponents . How true it is that * ' Time and the hour run through the roughest day . " But there was good in all thingsand it was to he hoped that all
, Brethren would unite in observing the Masonic charge , to imitate what was good , and to amend in themselves what might be faulty in others . The Asylum and the new Institution stood in the relative position of parent and child—the parent charity would do nothing to prejudice the child—it was expected the younger would do nothing to offend the parent —( hear , hear ) . For if it did , the parent might find it necessary to reprove , with calmness , and always with caution .
The world was too apt to palter with old age , forgetting that those whom the All-wise spared so long , demand the highest respect . It was well observed , that " Age bas a dignity which no human distinction can bestow . " The aged man was the ancestor of his own mind , the traditional chronicler of , to us , a past world , and lived in the present , the observer of growing time , while the spirit within him , partakingof an almost superhuman intelligence , enables him to contemplate the glories of another world . Let not his rags be sneered at—they VOL . ix . E n