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Article MASONIC ADDRESS , Page 1 of 4 →
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Masonic Address ,
MASONIC ADDRESS ,
BV TIIE KEV . II . R . BLADE , D . D . Delivered before Colonel the Hon Bro . George Anson , M . P ., Provincial Grand Master for Staffordshire , and the Brethren assembled at Stafford , on the 21 sl November , 1843 . * RIGHT WORSHIPFUL SinOFFICERSAND BRETHREN —I rise with
, , , infinite pleasure to respond to the honour you have conferred upon me in drinking my health , and thus publicly thanking me for my exertions in the revival of the Provincial Grand Lodge of this important Province . In helping to achieve this day ' s glorious epoch in the calends of Freemasonry , I freely confess I was somewhat impelled in my efforts by selfish motives ; but when I declare to you they were so enveloped in that ardour to revive the prosperity of the Craft in this Province , and
so absorbed in that jealous spirit to place the Order in its rightful position among the other excellent institutions of the country , which ought to animate every Mason ' s breast , I trust you will charitably pardon my betrayal of such motives in the present instance . So satisfied am I of the great social advantages of Masonry to the community at large , that I should be but a hearer and not a doer of our sacred law , did I not take every occasion to promote its influence among mankind in general , and in my own neighbourhood in particular . 1 should be a traitor to my Masonic fealty , and a breaker of our solemn obligation , did I neglect
to avail myself of my rank in the Fraternity , or my station in society , to elevate the Craft to that consideration in the province it so transcendantly merits . In the language of our most noble Brother the late Earl of Durham , " I have ever felt it my duty to support and encourage its principles and practice , because it powerfully developes all social and benevolent affections ; because it mitigates without , and annihilates within , the virulence of political and theological controversy ; because it
affords the only neutral ground on which all ranks and classes can meet with perfect equality , and associate without degradation or mortification , whether for purposes of moral or social intercourse : " and let me humbly add to that eloquent demonstration of what Masonry does , because it enables an individual Brother , whilst filling the W . Master ' s Chair of his Lodge , to distribute funds in acts of charity to his indigent , decayed , and aged Brethren in distress , which , as a private person in society , his
famil y circumstances might not justly permit . Upon such grounds I take my stand , and reply to the cavils of any one without the boundary of our " mystic circle" who may ask me my reason for being a Freemason ; and for such and similar reasons it behoves every good and true Brother , to cultivate and propagate the principles of our moral allegory . Would every Brother at this banquet stand up and relate his own experience as a Mason , we might gather ample materials to support our claims to universal respect and recommendation . Granted that some Brethren have not always acted on the square , even in their transactions
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Address ,
MASONIC ADDRESS ,
BV TIIE KEV . II . R . BLADE , D . D . Delivered before Colonel the Hon Bro . George Anson , M . P ., Provincial Grand Master for Staffordshire , and the Brethren assembled at Stafford , on the 21 sl November , 1843 . * RIGHT WORSHIPFUL SinOFFICERSAND BRETHREN —I rise with
, , , infinite pleasure to respond to the honour you have conferred upon me in drinking my health , and thus publicly thanking me for my exertions in the revival of the Provincial Grand Lodge of this important Province . In helping to achieve this day ' s glorious epoch in the calends of Freemasonry , I freely confess I was somewhat impelled in my efforts by selfish motives ; but when I declare to you they were so enveloped in that ardour to revive the prosperity of the Craft in this Province , and
so absorbed in that jealous spirit to place the Order in its rightful position among the other excellent institutions of the country , which ought to animate every Mason ' s breast , I trust you will charitably pardon my betrayal of such motives in the present instance . So satisfied am I of the great social advantages of Masonry to the community at large , that I should be but a hearer and not a doer of our sacred law , did I not take every occasion to promote its influence among mankind in general , and in my own neighbourhood in particular . 1 should be a traitor to my Masonic fealty , and a breaker of our solemn obligation , did I neglect
to avail myself of my rank in the Fraternity , or my station in society , to elevate the Craft to that consideration in the province it so transcendantly merits . In the language of our most noble Brother the late Earl of Durham , " I have ever felt it my duty to support and encourage its principles and practice , because it powerfully developes all social and benevolent affections ; because it mitigates without , and annihilates within , the virulence of political and theological controversy ; because it
affords the only neutral ground on which all ranks and classes can meet with perfect equality , and associate without degradation or mortification , whether for purposes of moral or social intercourse : " and let me humbly add to that eloquent demonstration of what Masonry does , because it enables an individual Brother , whilst filling the W . Master ' s Chair of his Lodge , to distribute funds in acts of charity to his indigent , decayed , and aged Brethren in distress , which , as a private person in society , his
famil y circumstances might not justly permit . Upon such grounds I take my stand , and reply to the cavils of any one without the boundary of our " mystic circle" who may ask me my reason for being a Freemason ; and for such and similar reasons it behoves every good and true Brother , to cultivate and propagate the principles of our moral allegory . Would every Brother at this banquet stand up and relate his own experience as a Mason , we might gather ample materials to support our claims to universal respect and recommendation . Granted that some Brethren have not always acted on the square , even in their transactions