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Article MASONIC ADDRESS , ← Page 3 of 4 →
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Masonic Address ,
with my votes a worthy ancl infirm Brother at Birmingham to become a successful candidate for an annuity at the last election , and I trust I shall succeed in placing another on the list at the ensuing election . May unity ancl harmony ever characterise the progress and proceedings of those two excellent and admirable adjuncts to our works of charity and brotherl y love ! Cases of the private exercise of Masonic bounty ancl relief are as general as they are innumerable . Not a sojourner
pre sents himself to the Treasurer of St . Peter ' s Lodge , craving pecuniary assistance , but who has it , if he prove , on proper examination , a good and true Brother in distress ; for indiscriminate relief only encourages vagabonds who are outcasts ofthe fraternity . In citing the example of my own Lodge , I am but illustrating the practice of every other . Not a forlorn stranger , be he countryman or foreigner , ( and applications of that nature are very frequent ) , has ever applied to me , either as Master
of my Lodge , or as an individual Brother , but I have felt myself bound by the solemn obligation of our fraternity , to succour his wants , and relieve his necessities , to the very best of my ability and circumstances . I mention my own conduct as being the rule of every Master and Brother in the Craft . Such are the benignant deeds of Masonry—such its sacred object—such its truly catholic principles . It respects neither clime nor creed in the distribution of its relief . It excludes nonebe
, he Jew , Turk , heretic , or Pagan , from receiving the embrace of its fraternal sympathy and succour . The expansive system of Masonry has been eloquently described to be in height reaching even unto the heavens—in depth , to the centre of the earth—in width , extending from pole to pole . Thus taking into the arms of its good-will and regard the
whole human family as the offspring of one common father . To Masonry I am personally indebted for the acquisition of several very worthy and estimable friends , of such various walks in life , that without that attractive level of equal intercourse , we most probably should never have discovered one another ' s good qualities , so different are our conventional positions in society . To the secret and winning fellowship of our Craft , 1 owe the honour of making the personal acquaintance of the
honourable Brother who graces the President ' s chair , as well as of the Officers and Brethren whom I have the pleasure to see around me . May the present meeting prove the earnest of an early future one ! 1 n short , for I have trespassed too long upon your attention , to dilate upon the excellencies of Masonry , as a useful social institution one might justly write a book . When pursued for its legitimate purposes—the instruction of mankind under palpable symbols and emblems—now adopted in
certain branches of education as the best mode of conveying and fixing knowledge on the mind—in the hidden mysteries of nature and science and the ethics of the purest morality , and not debased to the profligate celebration of bacchanalian orgies—it is deserving the countenace of every good and wise man . The gentler sex , too , need not view it with suspicion or disdain . On the contrary , were the adyta of our ceremonies permitted by our antique customs to be penetrated by their inquisitive thirst for informationthey would find nothing to abash the
, most modest , but everything that can teach and encourage virtue . The young man , who may not frequent church or chapel , if he be a Brother , must obey the summons to attend his duties in Lotlge , and he will there hear a sermon from the Chair which , if he be a Christian , will most likely lead him to his place of worship ; or , if not , he will equally be tauglit the duties of his station in life , the worship of his Creator , and
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Address ,
with my votes a worthy ancl infirm Brother at Birmingham to become a successful candidate for an annuity at the last election , and I trust I shall succeed in placing another on the list at the ensuing election . May unity ancl harmony ever characterise the progress and proceedings of those two excellent and admirable adjuncts to our works of charity and brotherl y love ! Cases of the private exercise of Masonic bounty ancl relief are as general as they are innumerable . Not a sojourner
pre sents himself to the Treasurer of St . Peter ' s Lodge , craving pecuniary assistance , but who has it , if he prove , on proper examination , a good and true Brother in distress ; for indiscriminate relief only encourages vagabonds who are outcasts ofthe fraternity . In citing the example of my own Lodge , I am but illustrating the practice of every other . Not a forlorn stranger , be he countryman or foreigner , ( and applications of that nature are very frequent ) , has ever applied to me , either as Master
of my Lodge , or as an individual Brother , but I have felt myself bound by the solemn obligation of our fraternity , to succour his wants , and relieve his necessities , to the very best of my ability and circumstances . I mention my own conduct as being the rule of every Master and Brother in the Craft . Such are the benignant deeds of Masonry—such its sacred object—such its truly catholic principles . It respects neither clime nor creed in the distribution of its relief . It excludes nonebe
, he Jew , Turk , heretic , or Pagan , from receiving the embrace of its fraternal sympathy and succour . The expansive system of Masonry has been eloquently described to be in height reaching even unto the heavens—in depth , to the centre of the earth—in width , extending from pole to pole . Thus taking into the arms of its good-will and regard the
whole human family as the offspring of one common father . To Masonry I am personally indebted for the acquisition of several very worthy and estimable friends , of such various walks in life , that without that attractive level of equal intercourse , we most probably should never have discovered one another ' s good qualities , so different are our conventional positions in society . To the secret and winning fellowship of our Craft , 1 owe the honour of making the personal acquaintance of the
honourable Brother who graces the President ' s chair , as well as of the Officers and Brethren whom I have the pleasure to see around me . May the present meeting prove the earnest of an early future one ! 1 n short , for I have trespassed too long upon your attention , to dilate upon the excellencies of Masonry , as a useful social institution one might justly write a book . When pursued for its legitimate purposes—the instruction of mankind under palpable symbols and emblems—now adopted in
certain branches of education as the best mode of conveying and fixing knowledge on the mind—in the hidden mysteries of nature and science and the ethics of the purest morality , and not debased to the profligate celebration of bacchanalian orgies—it is deserving the countenace of every good and wise man . The gentler sex , too , need not view it with suspicion or disdain . On the contrary , were the adyta of our ceremonies permitted by our antique customs to be penetrated by their inquisitive thirst for informationthey would find nothing to abash the
, most modest , but everything that can teach and encourage virtue . The young man , who may not frequent church or chapel , if he be a Brother , must obey the summons to attend his duties in Lotlge , and he will there hear a sermon from the Chair which , if he be a Christian , will most likely lead him to his place of worship ; or , if not , he will equally be tauglit the duties of his station in life , the worship of his Creator , and