Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Banquet.
present position to the accident of my having been elected , upon the death of our lamented Brother Hebb , late Mayor- of Lincoln , to be Chairman of the " Oliver offering" Committee , because I at the time happened to be , as I am now , Master of tbe William Loelge . I accepted the office ivith readiness , and I have endeavoured to discharge its duties to the best of my ability . I need not tell you , Brethren , what Freemasonry is : before I was initiatednow some twenty I
, years ago , had read a good deal about what it is not . I allude to a book published hy Professor Robison of Edinburgh , towards the close ofthe last century , entitled , " Proofs of a Conspiracy , & c . ; " in ivhich he , with great ingenuity ane ! considerable ability , endeavoured to connect Freemasonry ivith the worst features of the llluminati , & c , of the continent . He was kind enough to say that he thought Masonry in England was , in some degree , free from the charges he had brought against it . And what "
were those charges ? That ive were disloyal , irreligious , and conspiring to overturn all sacred and settled institutions ! Tliis book made a great impression ; hut that impression is removed . And how ? By these books ivhich lie before me !—( Great cheering as the Rev . Bro . held up , splendidly bound , copies of Dr . Oliver ' s Masonic ivorks . ) These have dissipated for ever the accusations brought against our Craft . Disloyal ! AFhyat the very moment when Professor Robison published
, his book , who were the heads of our oreler ? The chivalrous Earl of Moira , George Prince of Wales , anel Edward Duke of Kent ! Disloyal ! Was not George IV . our Grancl Master . Was not William IV . our Brother and patron ? Our last Grancl Master Avas a Royal Duke . The Duke of York was one of the Brotherhood . The King of
Hanover is a Freemason ! Would all these Princes have belonged to a disloyal society . —( Cheers . ) Are Ave conspirators to overthrow settled institutions ? Who is the present head of the army ? The Duke of Wellington ! aye , the Duke of Wellington is a Freemason . ' —( Cheers . ) Are we irreligious ? The Archbishop of Canterbury , the Pi-imate of all England , is a Freemason , and was once Master of a Bristol Lodge !—( Cheers . ) But I need not pursue these points ; but sure lam that neither I nor my Rev . Brothers near me would be present were it
possible to bring any such charges to bear against us . These facts , and above all these books , have set our Order in its true light . —( Cheers . ) And who ivrote these books ? Our friend and Brother and guest , ivhorn ive are IIOAV assembled to honour !—( Cheers . ) They are the Avitnesses to his exertions—they are the vouchers for his services . Our Brother Goodacre has aptly alluded to the spreading of Masonry in the East , andindeedover the world . AVhereverour princiles have thither
, , p gone also has passed the name of Dr . Oliver , the historian and the sage of Masonry ; and contributions to this offering from the distant climes prove , in some measure , that his labours are not unrecognized . —( Cheers . ) You all , Brethren , are cognizant of the reasons which Irai-e led to the offering of this testimonial to Dr . Oliver . They were based in an anxious elesire that he should have tangible assurance that his long devotion to our Craft was appreciated and acknowledged ; that he miht have
g something to pass to those who should come after him , hy ivhich they should know that their ancestor was honoured and beloved by a Brotherhood spread over the surface of the globe , of which he was at once the glory and the guide . Having been requested to write the inscription to be engraved on the Cup , I with some hesitation , have done so . I deemed it better to write it in Latin , but , " for the benefit of the country gentle-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Banquet.
present position to the accident of my having been elected , upon the death of our lamented Brother Hebb , late Mayor- of Lincoln , to be Chairman of the " Oliver offering" Committee , because I at the time happened to be , as I am now , Master of tbe William Loelge . I accepted the office ivith readiness , and I have endeavoured to discharge its duties to the best of my ability . I need not tell you , Brethren , what Freemasonry is : before I was initiatednow some twenty I
, years ago , had read a good deal about what it is not . I allude to a book published hy Professor Robison of Edinburgh , towards the close ofthe last century , entitled , " Proofs of a Conspiracy , & c . ; " in ivhich he , with great ingenuity ane ! considerable ability , endeavoured to connect Freemasonry ivith the worst features of the llluminati , & c , of the continent . He was kind enough to say that he thought Masonry in England was , in some degree , free from the charges he had brought against it . And what "
were those charges ? That ive were disloyal , irreligious , and conspiring to overturn all sacred and settled institutions ! Tliis book made a great impression ; hut that impression is removed . And how ? By these books ivhich lie before me !—( Great cheering as the Rev . Bro . held up , splendidly bound , copies of Dr . Oliver ' s Masonic ivorks . ) These have dissipated for ever the accusations brought against our Craft . Disloyal ! AFhyat the very moment when Professor Robison published
, his book , who were the heads of our oreler ? The chivalrous Earl of Moira , George Prince of Wales , anel Edward Duke of Kent ! Disloyal ! Was not George IV . our Grancl Master . Was not William IV . our Brother and patron ? Our last Grancl Master Avas a Royal Duke . The Duke of York was one of the Brotherhood . The King of
Hanover is a Freemason ! Would all these Princes have belonged to a disloyal society . —( Cheers . ) Are Ave conspirators to overthrow settled institutions ? Who is the present head of the army ? The Duke of Wellington ! aye , the Duke of Wellington is a Freemason . ' —( Cheers . ) Are we irreligious ? The Archbishop of Canterbury , the Pi-imate of all England , is a Freemason , and was once Master of a Bristol Lodge !—( Cheers . ) But I need not pursue these points ; but sure lam that neither I nor my Rev . Brothers near me would be present were it
possible to bring any such charges to bear against us . These facts , and above all these books , have set our Order in its true light . —( Cheers . ) And who ivrote these books ? Our friend and Brother and guest , ivhorn ive are IIOAV assembled to honour !—( Cheers . ) They are the Avitnesses to his exertions—they are the vouchers for his services . Our Brother Goodacre has aptly alluded to the spreading of Masonry in the East , andindeedover the world . AVhereverour princiles have thither
, , p gone also has passed the name of Dr . Oliver , the historian and the sage of Masonry ; and contributions to this offering from the distant climes prove , in some measure , that his labours are not unrecognized . —( Cheers . ) You all , Brethren , are cognizant of the reasons which Irai-e led to the offering of this testimonial to Dr . Oliver . They were based in an anxious elesire that he should have tangible assurance that his long devotion to our Craft was appreciated and acknowledged ; that he miht have
g something to pass to those who should come after him , hy ivhich they should know that their ancestor was honoured and beloved by a Brotherhood spread over the surface of the globe , of which he was at once the glory and the guide . Having been requested to write the inscription to be engraved on the Cup , I with some hesitation , have done so . I deemed it better to write it in Latin , but , " for the benefit of the country gentle-