Contents.

CONTENTS .

L EADERAn Oration on Freemasonry ... ... ... 6 7 provincial Grand Chapter of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight ... ... -GS Masonic Installation at Winchester ... ... ... ... 68 Freemasonry in Greece ... ... ... ... . 6 S Supreme Grand Chapter of England ... ... ... ... CS Consecration of the [ "ppa Lodge , No . 11 , of Royal Ark Mariners ... ... 6 g Consr cralion of the Old Priory Lodge . No . 2594 ... ••• 1 °

Centenary Calibration of the Prince Frederick Lodge , No . 307 ... ... 70 IVrkenhead Masonic Charity Ball ... ... ... ... ... 71 Third Ladies' Night of lhe Seu'hern S'ar Lodge , No . H 5 S ... ... 71 Cralt Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 73 Masonic Notes ... ... ... ... ... ... 7 s Mark Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... So Our Poitrait Gallery ... .. ... ... ... ... 80 Obituary ... ... ... ... ... ... ... So Mascnic and General 1 [ dings ... ... ... ... ... S 2

An Oration On Freemasonry.

AN ORATION ON FREEMASONRY .

We read so many of the addresses and orations on Freemasonry which are to be found in ourNorth American exchanges or in the printed Proceedings of the North American Grand Lodges , that we may be excused if we do not place an excessively high value on the remarks and opinions they contain . Many of those

who deliver them are content to keep themselves on perfectly safe ground by giving expression to little else than a series of mild platitudes , which are not infrequently mistaken for something that is wonderful by audiences whose knowledge of Freemasonry as a science , and the aims and objects it has in

view , is very limited . Others are more venturesome ,, and occasionally treat their hearers to a display of " tall talk" about the Order , and convert it from a plain and unassuming system of morality into something which , on careful examination , turns out

to be not unlike a system of religion . A few , however , are to be found here and there in which the speakers , avoiding ancient platitudes on the one hand , and objectionable buncombe on the other , are reasonable in their expositions of Freemasonry and

its purposes , and amongst these few we have no hesitation in including Bro . CHARLES C . STEVENSON , Grand Orator of Idaho , whose oration on Freemasonry , as published in the Proceedings of his Grand Lodge , at its 28 th Annual Communication , in September last , is one of the best which it has been

our duty to read for many a long day . It is evident that Bro . STEVENSON has a very clear appreciation of Masonry and the objects it is intended to fulfil . At the outset of his

oration he refers to a tradition " that a mi ghty island , almost a continent , by some unaccountable manifestation of Divine Providence , disappeared from view , and over its remains now rolls the great Atlantic ; " and he claims that it is not unreasonable to

imagine that this " mighty island" may have had its " walled cities , its public institutions , its works of architecture , its wealth of forests , its stretches of meadows and vales clotted with the peaceful homts of husbandmen ; its temples of worship crowded

with faithful devotees ; its valorous soldiers fired with a glorious history of noble deeds b y gallant heroes ; its literature sparkling with the gems of genius . " Yet , in obedience to the will of a Supreme Power , that island has disappeared . And as it has

disappeare d , so , too , have the political creations of man . We '" ay obtain from the pages of history some fleeting glimpses at ie empires , kingdoms , republics of thc past , at the valorous coeds of their military geniuses , the beautiful conceptions of icr poets , and painters , and sculptors ; the eloquence of their

aw learnin g of their philosophers ; but all have passed spir a l T n 0 tlling remains t 0 us from former ages but that infoil l ° the Iaw ' ° n which our system of Masonry is ' thcn proceeds : "Theantiquity of Freemasonry has

An Oration On Freemasonry.

been doubted by some of the most erudite sons of the Craft , but whether the noble science existed among the patriarchs of old , or was the creation of those brilliant minds that controlled the reorganisation in the eighteenth century , can be but a

matter of indifference to those inspired with the sublime teachings of the noble Institution which we to-day represent . " " The traditions we dramatically represent in our degrees may or may not be founded on actual historical facts , yet , " as our respected

brother most pertinently argues , " they point out to initiates the beauties of a perfect life and the glories of a life to come . It matters little to you and me in this practical life of to-day whether our ritual was derived from the Egyptian , the .

Phoenician , or the Grecian mysteries . VVe have an inherent regard for the age of our Fraternity , but whether it came down direct in its present form from King Solomon's Temple can have but little influence upon the great end we have in view . " He carries

his argument still further in the passage which follows , and in which he says " we are proud of our noble Institution ; we are proud of its intimate connection with thc advancement and improvement of-the world But while we may be

reminiscent and indulge in the pleasant and agreeable privilege of revelling in the beauties and delights of a glorious history , we should never lose si ght of the fact that Masonry is

also a practical Institution , designed to perpetuate God ' s word and to carry out in a great measure the injunctions contained in the ereat Book of Revelations " —bv which we understand

him to refer , not to the concluding part of the New Testament , which bears that particular title , but to thc whole Volume of the Sacred Law , as revealing the will of the Great Creator . Proceeding onward , Bro . STEVENSON continues to lay stress

on thc practical character of Freemasonry . " The fraternity of Freemasons is to-day , " he remarks , " a great breathing , living unity . Its doctrines and principles , inspired of God , contain all that is essential for a perfect and upright life . The lessons of

the lecturer are calculated to improve and ennoble mankind , but the great aim of our noble Institution will be lost sight of if we fail to put into execution the excellent instructions with which we are all invested . " More follows that is couched in a similar

strain , and then the orator propounds in thc next paragraph a series o . f practical questions . " Arc all our distressed , worthy brothers properly provided for . " " Are thc sobs of the widow and the wails of hungry orphans soothed with peace and plenty ?

Are the secrets of our brother secretly guarded in faithful hearts ? Is the fallen raised gently and are there sweet words of comfort whispered in his ear ? Is thc welfare of a brother remembered in our invocations to God ? Do we join in

promoting each other ' s welfare and rejoicing in each other ' s prosperity , and do we practice out of the lodge those great moral duties which are inculcated in it ? " He concludes with thc following passage : " By a faithful adherence to the lessons

taught us in the lodge , by a firm reliance upon our Supreme Grand Master , and by a strict obedience to the injunctions contained in that Great Light upon our Altar , we may confidently

expect that our excellent Institution will escape a repetition of those disasters of old , and that Freemasonry will go down into futurity as a glorious vehicle for dispensing light throughout the length and breadth of the world . "

We have followed Bro . STEVENSON pretty closely through his oration . We have made his line of argument apparent by the quotation of several of the most important passages in his address , and we have come to thc conclusion that it would be