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SPECIAL NOTICE

C OSMOPOLITAN CALENDAR , DIARY AND POCKET BOOK FOR 1874 . We have forwarded , addressed lo the Secretaries- of even / Lodge , a form that

requires , lo be filed in , lo show any alterations and additions that may be needed for the Cosmopolitan Calendar , Diary and Pocket Book for 1874 . As

the Calendar will be published early next month , il is respectfully ret / nested thai the form mat / be filled in at- once , and returned lo the Publisher , George Kenning , 19 8 , Fleet-street .

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NOTICE .

The Subscription to THE F REEMASON ii now 10 s . per annum , post-free , payable in advance . Vol . I ., bound in cloth 4 s . Gd . Vol . If ., ditto 7 s . 6 < I .

Vol . III ., ditto 15 s . oil . Vol . IV ., tlitto i . -js . od . Vol . V ., ditto 15 s . od . Reading Cases to hold 52 numbers ... 25 . 6 tl . Ditto ditto 4 do . ... is . 6 d .

United States of America . THE FREEMASON is delivered hee in any part of thc Uniteti States for 12 s . per annum , payable in advance . The 1-rccmason is published on Saturday Mornings in time for the- earl ) ' trains . The price of the Freemason is Twopence per week : annual

subscription , ios . ( payahie . in advance . ) All communications , letters , & c , lo be addressed to the Editor , lo . S , Merel-strcet , E . C . The Editor will pay careful attention to ail M . SS . entrusted to him , hul cannot undertake to return them unlcssacconipanicd by postage fctatnus .

Liverpool Theatres, &C.

LIVERPOOL THEATRES , & c .

Weeli endiny September 20 . ROVAI . ALEXANDRA THEATRE , I . ime-street . — Leasee Urn . li . Sakcr . Craven RHIH-HMOI ' Company in" C . i-le . " RO S'AI . AMl'lllTlll ' -ATKH , Creat Ihailotlc-slicel . —Lessee Hro . II . Leslie . " The Wandering Jew /'

PRINCE Ol' WALES THEATRE , ( lay lon-siluaic—Le .-see Mr . Scltoil Parrv . llvrnn ' s ItuilcMiue , "The ll . 'ippv Land . " _ ' ' THEATRE KOYAL Wiiliamsiin-si | uarc . — Lessee , liro . Dc Vreece . ' - Nomi- > es , or its Two to One . " ' Ouakers and Shakeri ,, " and Miscellaneous Kntcrtniniiier . l .

ST . JAMES'S HALL , Lime-street . —Proprietor , Iiro . S . Hague . Special Arti .-tcs and Programme . NEW STAR MUSIC HALL , Wiilinmsun-s-juarc . —Manager Hro . Saundeis . Opera and Special Attractions . '

ROTUNDA THEATRE and MUSIC 11 A I . I .. —Proprietor , Mr . I ) , 'irnnttcll . Miscellaneous l '" . ntcrtniimients . NEWSOMK'S CIRCUS , WI 1 Kecl 1 a 1 . il ,-Scenes of the Circle ami other EnteiLiiniiients . QUEEN'S MALI .. — "En'eraM illin-lvel-, HiimnrH :-, and Dancer-.

-p ONIT . RT H . M . I .. — Mv . I ' . . vLu .-ai . c . SC . JAMES'S . MINOR HAL ' ..---. Madame Card .-mil M . Ainu v ' EntcTOmmieii ! .

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NOTICE .

All Communications , Adrcrtiscmenls , & c , intended for insertion iu the X 11 niter ufthefuttuwiiig Saturday , must reach ( lie Office not later than d o ' cluck mi Wednesday evening .

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The . Freemason , S . VJ-l'RII . VV , St ' . l'l I . M ill- !* . 13 , 1873 .

An Oration.

AN ORATION .

11 v Bnu . L . P . Ali-riiv . M , D . P . G . M . The following is the oration of liro . L . P .

Aletiinm , P . G . D . of lingland , and D . Prov . G . AL , which was diiivered on Thursday . Aug . 2 S 1 I 1 , at the Provineial Grand Lodge , held in the Town

An Oration.

Hall at Dawlish , on the occasion of the consecration of Lodge Salem No . 1443 : — " Rig ht Worshipful Sir . —The commands yon have laid upon me to perform to-day the

customary duty of addressing the brethren present , and more particularly the brethren of the lodge we are about to consecrate , will be obeyed with great willingness , but I fear , owing to illness *

with even less force than on former occasions-I , however , feel the importance of this portion of the ceremony , on each recurring occasion for its exercise , to be of a very increasing" and grave

character , especially in all that relates to the conduct of the brethren without , as well as within , the lodge . I therefore propose to-day , to confine myself to urging npon all who hear me , the

necessity of guarding more carefully than ever the portals of our Order , that none unworthy shall be permitted to enter . Never in the history of the Craft was Masonry so flourishing , if

numbers are to be accepted as the proof of success . In our own province a member has been added to the body for nearly every day of the past year . If each of those initiates is really

what his proposer and seconder , and the Lodge which has accepted him , are bound by their obligations to scrupulously enquire and satisfy themselves that he is , namely , a ' good man and

true , ' then have we reason to rejoice that our principles have gained so many volunteers for their support and dissemination . Indeed it would , in such a case , be a subject of deep regret

that the number has not been multiplied by thousands for every unit , so as to hasten the coming of that millennium when thc great Brotherhood of Nations shall learn , in the practice of universal

Masonry to forget that war , bloodshed , discord , and misery polluted the world which the great God has given us for our use and enjoyment , so full of beauty , peace , and harmony . But if , on

the other hand , sufficient care has not been taken by the lodges , for on tliem , as the ultimate court of appeal , must rest the responsibility of every initiation , to test the moral qualities as well as

the social position of each candidate proposed for admission into their number , it is impossible but that some have gained admission who are unworthy of the honour , and who will do discredit to the Order . If there

be twenty such , or fen such , or even live such , amongst the 350 candidates admitted into the Devonshire lodges , better would it have been

for the province and for the Order that not a single candidate should have been initiated during the whole year . The strength of every noble edifice or stately structure is to be

estimated , not by the altitude of its towers , by the number of its arches , or by the size of its buttresses , but by the strength of its weakest

part . A deficient key-stone , a rotten stone in tin' foundation , or a loos . * screw , may , in a moment reilu :. * . ' to absolute ruin the proudest monument of t ' ne builder ' : ' art . And in the

present day , when the spirit of the nge is one of enquiry , when every pretension to superior consideration is immediately challenged , when all

who claim skill or knowledge whicii are not possessed by others , must be prepared to show that their skill is real and their knowledge is true , Alasonry more than any other human institution will , whethcriits members like lit or

An Oration.

not , be subject to the same spirit of enquiry 5 it will have to pass , as it were , through an ordeal of fire , to run the gauntlet of the severest criticism , and to encounter the sharpest ridicule . The fire

will not scathe us , the criticism will not wound us , neither will the ridicule give us any concern , if we are , as a body , true to our principles , if in our daily lives we practice what we have learned

in our lodges . But if the dissolute claim admission for the sake of convivality , and have his claim allowed , if the bankrupt thinks Masonry will rebuild the fortune which neglect and

improvidence have ruined , or if those whose private lives will not bear examination as to their morality , honesty , or religious sentiments , are permitted to parade themselves in

our ranks , the world will judge the Order , not by the thousands of just and upright men who range under its banners , having the tongue of good repute heard ever in their favour , but by

the tens , or the units , by whose admission our own carelessness has given the outer world the power to judge and to condemn us . 1 use the word carelessness advisedly , for I cannot believe

that any man who had pondered for a single moment on the solemn obligations he had taken as a Master , or even as a simple member of a lodge , would deliberately recommend any to a

participation of our secrets , or permit them to share our privileges , unless he had a well founded confidence that the candidate so proposed would reflect credit on our choice . But the fact remains

and cannot be contradicted , that many unworthy and unfitting men have of late years been admitted into the Order . Now each of these men holds the honour and the good name of the Crait

in his keeping as much as the most worthy and upright brethren do . An offence committed by an individual who is not a Mason affects but a limited circle , but when committed by a Mason

it tarnishes the pure metal of our whole Order . It is not sufficient for us to point to the thousands of our brethren who lead blameless and useful lives , which show forth / as a shining

light , the teaching of Masonry carried into daily practice . It is not sufficient for us to contend that bad members are to be found in every sect , even among professing Christians the world is

only to eager to seize every opportunity of condemning what it does not understand , and by that opinion and judgment we must , as all other human institutions must , stand or fall . When ,

therefore , we see , my brethren , that one hour of n bad man ' s lifo will weigh more against the body to which we are so proud to belong , than the whole of a good man ' s history , let us exercise

the greatest care that none are admitted who can bring us , individually and collectively , into contempt . I speak to the whole of the brethren who arc present , and more emphatically to you ,

W . AL , officers , and brethren of Lodge Salem . I entreat you to be able to tell us in future years that you have made the internal and moral qualities of each candidate the

subject of most searching enquiry and the test of admission , rather than his external position and advantages . Your duty , AVorshipful Sir , is plain ,

to yon is confided the honour ofthe whole body throughout the world see that you perform your duty firmly j your duty , officers of the lodge , is equall y plain ; and so is yours , members of the