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Article PROVINCIAL ← Page 24 of 31 →
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Provincial
but the contrary , as the attendance of so many of the clergy and the kindness of the vicar of the parish would show . Of course all men had a right to canvass the tenets of the Order , and to form their own opinion therefrom , and of the line of conduct inculcated in the lodge . The object of the institution was to promote peace and good-will to all men , to cultivate feelings of good-will and mutual assistance among the brethren , and to extend them to all mankind . These principles had , he hoped ,
been inculcated on the mind of every Mason , and he trusted that they would be fully acted up to , and carried into every day life and practice . Most of the attacks of Freemasonry , spoken as well as printed , were unfounded and unfair ; they were made in ignorance and prejudice by persons who had no correct idea of what the institution was , and would take no pains to enlighten themselves . But the means of doing so were easy ; the door of Masonry could he opened by the key of
initiation , the only qualifications being maturity of age , soundness of judgment , and a correctness of morals . He then proceeded to point out other advantages of Freemasonry , especially the mutual help and assistance which the members are bound to extend to each other . No man was more read y to come forward and support his friend than the Mason ; and it must be so , if he were obedient to the principles and precepts of the institutionand obedience was laid down as the basis of
, the Order . The superstructure raised upon this foundation was charity , as had been beautifull y illustrated by the P . G . Chaplain in his excellent sermon that afternoon . He hoped that every Mason would endeavour to gain and merit the praise of all worthy and deserving men , that all present would endeavour so to act as to insure it as far as possible . But to return to the toast . He would couple with it the name of tbe vicar
of the parish , Mr . Woodcock , for they were very much indebted to him for the way in which the brethren had been received by him , and for the use of his school-room and church . The P . G . M . proceeded to speak of Mr . Woodcock in "very complimentary terms , particularly with reference to his exertions in promoting the education of the poorer inhabitants of the parish , and sat down with proposing " Church and State , coupled with the name of Mr . Woodcock , "—( cheers ) . The Rev . Mr . WOODCOCK could notin a masonic senseaddress them
, , as " brethren , " but in the wider sense of Christian brotherhood , the term , he was sure , would be permitted . He thought , however , that some of his reverend friends around him who bore the decorations of the Order ought to have spoken , but as he had been so particularly called on , he could not hesitate a moment in acknowledging the toast . He was not a Mason , and he must confess that at present he did not feel inclined to become one . Whether Masons or notall ought to bear
, a kindly feeling towards each other—the bond of Christian sympathy united all men together , and all ought to help and assist one another . Whatever may be his future course with reference to Masonry , he shoud ever bear a grateful recollection of the liberality of the brethren that day in the handsome collection which they had made on behalf of the parish schools . He could assure them that twenty pounds would prove a great assistance in a parish which was exceedingly poorand had no resident
, gentry . His object was to enlarge his school buildings , so as to include a convenient place for the training of girls for domestic service , instead of allowing them to be brought up in ignorance and vice , as formerly . In carrying out his object , he had to encounter a great deal of prejudice and ignorance , and these were the great enemies to everything like VOL . vi , > j u
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Provincial
but the contrary , as the attendance of so many of the clergy and the kindness of the vicar of the parish would show . Of course all men had a right to canvass the tenets of the Order , and to form their own opinion therefrom , and of the line of conduct inculcated in the lodge . The object of the institution was to promote peace and good-will to all men , to cultivate feelings of good-will and mutual assistance among the brethren , and to extend them to all mankind . These principles had , he hoped ,
been inculcated on the mind of every Mason , and he trusted that they would be fully acted up to , and carried into every day life and practice . Most of the attacks of Freemasonry , spoken as well as printed , were unfounded and unfair ; they were made in ignorance and prejudice by persons who had no correct idea of what the institution was , and would take no pains to enlighten themselves . But the means of doing so were easy ; the door of Masonry could he opened by the key of
initiation , the only qualifications being maturity of age , soundness of judgment , and a correctness of morals . He then proceeded to point out other advantages of Freemasonry , especially the mutual help and assistance which the members are bound to extend to each other . No man was more read y to come forward and support his friend than the Mason ; and it must be so , if he were obedient to the principles and precepts of the institutionand obedience was laid down as the basis of
, the Order . The superstructure raised upon this foundation was charity , as had been beautifull y illustrated by the P . G . Chaplain in his excellent sermon that afternoon . He hoped that every Mason would endeavour to gain and merit the praise of all worthy and deserving men , that all present would endeavour so to act as to insure it as far as possible . But to return to the toast . He would couple with it the name of tbe vicar
of the parish , Mr . Woodcock , for they were very much indebted to him for the way in which the brethren had been received by him , and for the use of his school-room and church . The P . G . M . proceeded to speak of Mr . Woodcock in "very complimentary terms , particularly with reference to his exertions in promoting the education of the poorer inhabitants of the parish , and sat down with proposing " Church and State , coupled with the name of Mr . Woodcock , "—( cheers ) . The Rev . Mr . WOODCOCK could notin a masonic senseaddress them
, , as " brethren , " but in the wider sense of Christian brotherhood , the term , he was sure , would be permitted . He thought , however , that some of his reverend friends around him who bore the decorations of the Order ought to have spoken , but as he had been so particularly called on , he could not hesitate a moment in acknowledging the toast . He was not a Mason , and he must confess that at present he did not feel inclined to become one . Whether Masons or notall ought to bear
, a kindly feeling towards each other—the bond of Christian sympathy united all men together , and all ought to help and assist one another . Whatever may be his future course with reference to Masonry , he shoud ever bear a grateful recollection of the liberality of the brethren that day in the handsome collection which they had made on behalf of the parish schools . He could assure them that twenty pounds would prove a great assistance in a parish which was exceedingly poorand had no resident
, gentry . His object was to enlarge his school buildings , so as to include a convenient place for the training of girls for domestic service , instead of allowing them to be brought up in ignorance and vice , as formerly . In carrying out his object , he had to encounter a great deal of prejudice and ignorance , and these were the great enemies to everything like VOL . vi , > j u