Board Of Benevolence.

BOARD OF BENEVOLENCE .

" The monthly meeting of the Board of Benevolence was held on Wednesday evening , at Freemasons' Hall . Bros . Robert Grey , President , James Brett , Senior Vice-President , and Bro . C . A . Cottebrune , Junior Vice-President , occup ied their respective cha rs . There were also present Bros . Col . Shadwell H . Clerke , G . Sec ; Alfred

A . Pendlebury , Asst . G . Sec . ; W . Dodd , W . H . Lee , W . P . Brown , David D . Mercer , H . Garrod , W . M , Bywater , C . F . Hogard , C . Dairy , F . R . Spaull , R . Bradley , Rev . J . S . Brownrigg , J . H . Matthews , F . Richardson , G . A . Condy , A . C . Haslip , E . Bowyer , G . Read , R . J . Taylor , W . Hopekirk , T . Call , VV . S . Page , A . Calver , H . Dickey , C . H . Webb , G . H . Langley , A . M . Cohen , R . J . Homan

H . Massey , C . W . Kennedy , W . Hamlyn , F . Coulderv , W . Vail , C . M . Free , H . Cattermole , A . E . Gladwell . E . R . Cusin , T . Nettlefold C . Castell , A . Betts , and C . Blum . After the Board had been opened , the PRESIDENT announced that the balance of income of the Benevolent Fund for the year was £ 12 os . fid . The brethren then confirmed the lecommendalions made

at the last meeting- to the amount of £ 260 . The new list contained the names of 20 petitioners—a much shorter list than ordinary . These came from lodges at London , Walsall , Richmond ( Yorkshire ) , Sandbach , Liverpool , George Town ( Demerara ) , Plymouth , Bangalore , Upton , Balmain ( New South Wales ) , Battle , Wadebridge . Hungary ,

Bombay , Canada , and Birmingham . Two of these were dismissed and live were deferred . The remainder were relieved with a total of £ 25 $ , which was made up as follows : One recommendation of £ 50 and one of £ 40 , five grants of 420 each , two of £ 15 each , three of £ 10 each , and one of £ 5 .

Freemasonry In Cornwall.

FREEMASONRY IN CORNWALL .

Bro . the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe , Provincial Grand Master of Cornwall , has fixed Thursday , the 13 th October , for holding' the Provincial Grand Lodge of Cornwall at Bodmin , under the wing of One and All Lodge , No . 330 , which was warranted in 1 S 10 , and is now in a prosperous condition . The W . M . is Bro . B . F . Edyvean , and the

Secretary Bro . G . E . Liddell . There are 20 Past Masters , who are still subscribing members to the lodge , including Bro . F . J . Hext , P . Prov . S . G . W ., who served that office in 1 S 47 : and Bro . Sir Charles B . Sawle , Bart ., the respected D . Prov . G . M ., who occupied the chair in 1854 . When the Prov . Grand Lodge \ va < held at Bodmin in 1 S 66 there were 20 lodges , and the R . W . Bro . Augustus Smith

was the Prov . Grand Master . In 1874 , when it was again held in that town , the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe had been installed for about a year , having then 24 lodges under his rule . Now there are 30 lodges , and though Cornwall is the most westerly province in England , there is no county in which the Craft is better managed , the funds more ably administered , or the Provincial Grand Master more esteemed

and beloved . The business at the forthcoming meeting will be considerable . The rules will be subject to confirmation respecting the Annuity and Benevolent Fund ; a number of reports will be announced for the decision of the brethren , and propositions will have to be considered which in some instances will require the careful attention of those on whom the management of the funds for the

Charities mainly rest . There is one candidate for a widow's annuity , and four for educational grants , the state of the finances happily enabling all to be elected , if the members so determine . The officers will be appointed and invested as usual , on the return from Divine service at church , and possibly there will be some form of commemorating the Jubilee , which , Masonically and generally , will prove acceptable to all concerned .

Address By Bro. B. L. Barnett, D.D. G.M., At The Dedication Of The New Masonic Hall, Brisbane.

ADDRESS BY BRO . B . L . BARNETT , D . D . G . M ., AT THE DEDICATION OF THE NEW MASONIC HALL , BRISBANE .

Some time since we gave a report ot the dedication of the new Masonic Hall in Brisbane , Queensland , the ceremony being performed , at the particular request of R . W . Bro . the Hon . A . C . Gregory , D . G . M ., by Bro . Barron L .

Barnett , Dep . D . G . M . In the course of the proceedings Bro . Barnett delivered a very eloquent address on the principles of Freemasonry , and especially on the very ancient ceremony in which the brethren were at the time engaged . This address is so well framed , and must have been listened to with so much pleasure and interest by Bro . Barnett ' s audience , that we need offer no apology for

introducing it to our readers , even though its delivery took place a considerable time back . " In assembling to dedicate this building to an exclusive purpose , we are performing an act which satisfies a universal idea . Amongst every people , and in every age , Shoves , altars , fanes , temples , and basilicas have been devoted to uses of contemplation , worship , teaching , or

government , and the act or function of dedication , or devoting to thespecial purpose , has always been accompanied Jjy particular ceremonial . The actual dedication is naturally ' » e public announcement that the place is thenceforward Wade over to the purpose assigned , but it has always been customary to surround this declaration with the pomp and disp lay and solemn acts as oractised in India , Egypt .

Judasa , Greece , Rome , Britain , and other countries in ancient times . It was always accompanied by imposing oerernonies , and it has descended to our own times in form ! ' « e the ancient , with some natural changes suited to our f £ * 3 U | : ¦ ' ' remarkable that no change has been "recced in the leading forms , which seem to be agreeable . ° 'he innate notions , if there be such , attendant on the

l ° ea of dedication . It is to be noth ed that benedictions , nations , anointings , and circumambulations have always ^ mained as distinguishing features of these services , and , ^ practise them as Masons—ever Conservative—no doubt J . ° tradition , for we have no settled ritual , even unto 0 t . V- Biblical history furnishes innumerable instances in » Ces an ^ ''lings devoted to high purposes ; even

dwellrjpjj re dedicated by special rites ; the name of the 'Tl ^ * u lnscrlbed about the doors of such houses . anl 10 u s " alt write them upon the door posts of thine house speal ° y ga , es >'—and again— 'The officers shall hath k " i "' ^ P ° p le , saying , what man is there that him 5 house and hatn not dedicated it ? Let anollf return to his house , lest he die in battle , and '" «• man dedicate it . ' Profane history , since it em-

Address By Bro. B. L. Barnett, D.D. G.M., At The Dedication Of The New Masonic Hall, Brisbane.

braces accounts of people more widely spread through the world and more diversified , affords many more'instances ; and we know that dedication to tutelary deities was practised widely in houses and other places , and some pious wish , or votive sentence , or favourable omen , was placed over the portal . To us , particularly , as Masons , the idea of setting aside a place for our communications is

familiar and seemly ; indeed , it is an absolute necessity , and it is creditable that we should desire to set up our altars with state and circumstance , and maintain them as symbols of our union and our dutifulness to this ennobling profession . We have formulae for defining Freemasonrythey are well , as formulae—but it is not easy to define it . I do not know how this is , unless it be that whilst

Freemasonry is in the highest degree an intellectual profession ( I ' hat is to say , it appeals to the mind and understanding ) , it is quite as much , if not more , founded in feeling—an ' affair of the heart . ' There are , no doubt , very many who are indifferent , not zealous , or whose appreciation is of a weaker order ; but the majority of us seem to imbibe the sentiment of fellowship quickly and perhaps unconsciously .

It is the idea of fellowship which would prompt to Truth and Charity , and if we profess these and practise them , we may be sure our characters as men will become ennobled . It would be easy to commence by reference to the altar erected by Noah as an instar . ceof permanentdedication—an obscure tradition is said to have existed that it was built from the remains of one erected by Adam ( for of that there

is some record)—and enumerate all the accounts of special dedication and consecration of persons , things , and places , to religiuus purposes as recorded in the Bible up to the brilliant and circumstantial account of the dedication of the Temple by King Solomon , and , later , to the re-consecration of the Temple by ihe Maccabees , after its pollution under Antiochus Epiphanes . The accounts of these

ceremonials , as given in the sacred records , interest us more than any taken from other sources , since we derive most of our imagery—our origin indeed—from one of these events . We lay stress on ceremony . In all assemblies of men for any serious purpose there is the practise of some form , otherwise there would be no order or regularity . It is essential ; it has always prevailed ; and the tendency

of modern thought and practise seems rather to confirm than abrogate the use of ceremony and set formsforms aie wanted for harmony and reguladty . Ceremonies in themselves , by themselves , may be idle and suprrficial ; but when they are attached to lofty ideas , when they impress the mind and attract the attention , they are useful , necessary , they have high sanction . At all events , we all

know that Masons insist on ceremony for the sake of uniformity and decorum , and to impress the memory . There are men of abstracted minds who can conceive of the higher ideals by contemplation alone , and for them it is asserted that rites are barren , that temples and altars are unsuggestive , but rather that the mountain tops , or other natural places , open to the ' canopy of heaven , ' are fitter

surroundings for their voiceless homage , or that justice may be dispensed by the wayside , as the case may arise , or that learning may be imparted ambulando . But we are nearly all too practical , too much occupied by our worldly occupations , for this abstraction . The reality of plain earth and open sky , seen by us every moment of our lives , cannot impress us with particularity . This is , perhaps , a

weakness in our nature , but it is natural ; novelty influences us . We must have special places , things , and surroundings to evoke feeling and excite ideality , which only give beauty and grace to our lives . We may deduce this necessity from what is assumed to have actually taken place with Solomon ' s great edifice . Mountains planted with groves were the primitive temples . High places were anciently thought to

be appropriate as places of worship , and to Mount Moriah was attributed a peculiar sanctity , all its three summits—Moriah , Zion and Aeia—being venerated as holy ground . Calmetsays , 'The tops were arranged in oblong squares surrounded by groves . ' They were much resorted to . Firstly , there were tents and houses , and , finally , from a town these became a holy city . But it is my design to

point out that the natural grove in process of time became a magnificent Temple , with all its paraphernalia of ritual worship , as the inevitable development of the religious aspirations of a busy people . Mount Moriah is symbolically referred to as ' the floor of the lodge . ' Neither this circumstance nor the three great sacrifices thereon made is referred to in any dedication service that 1 am acquainted

with , and , considering the references to them in our teaching , it is remarkable . We tometimes find the words , 'consecration ' and ' dedication ' used synonymously . They are not strictly synonymous . 'Consecration' applied originally to places to which were attributed some particular qualities—conferred by virtue of the occult idea of the consecrative faculty itself , believed to be specially gifted—for

example , the presence of the bhekinah in the Hebrew Temple , or the descent of a ' Holy Presence' in other cults ; or , in Heathen Temples , the supposed visitation , by choice or favour , of the Deity or hero to whom the place was devoted . The better synonymous explanation for ' consecrated' is 'hallowed . ' The idea of 'Sacer , ' from which the word 'consecrate "

is derived , is primarily " Divine . " Words are often used apart from their original application on account of fancied resemblances or as figures , and thus the expression ' consecration ' may be used in a sense different—in degreefrom its original meaning . In its simple sense , then , ' consecration ' is misapplied to such purposes as ours , for we do not hold that a hall , a building , is hallowed in the

reverential sense . Although it is customary with some to speak of consecrating a lodge , it is not strictly proper , the authoritative expression is ' constituting' a lodge ; but it may also be formally dedicated to its particular purpose . Dedication is always used in reference to a hall or building , and no other term is applicable . Assuming , however , the term consecration to be fittingly applied to the lodge itself ,

dedication only will be here shown to apply to the place of meeting by remembering the Biblical historical fact that , whether in tabernacle or temple , it was the sanctum sanctorum that was the consecrated , the hallowed place ; the outer structure , with its halls and courts , and public places , was dedicated to a multiplicity of important and public purposes , and as a sitting place for the arcanum . In the

1 st Book of Kings , alter giving the dedicatory prayer or supplication , it says , chapter 8 , verse 64 , ' The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord . ' The tabernacle and temple are our exemplars in more instances than this ; and it is interesting to remark that , whilst dedicating this room , we shall symbolically anoint and quasi-consecrate the lodge or lodge-

Address By Bro. B. L. Barnett, D.D. G.M., At The Dedication Of The New Masonic Hall, Brisbane.

board , which will be placed for the time in the centre of the room . This may be taken as an emblem to those who are so minded of the hallowing of the middle of the court , emblematically ever present in the place devoted or given up by to-day ' s proceedings to the exclusive purposes of Freeirnsonry . There is no prescribed ritual for this dedicatory function . Neither consecration nor dedication is mentiuned

in the Book of Constitutions . Indeed , ' Preston '—14 th edition , edited by Dr . Oliver—says : 'The ceremony is never to be used but when it is specially ordered . ' The most particular modern instance of this ceremonial in Masonry , from which all such that have taken place since have derived their precedents , was the opening of Freemasons' Hall , London , on the 23 rd May , 1776—110 years

ago—when it was solemnly dedicated to ' Masonry , Virtue , and Universal Benevolence . ' ' Dedicatio , ' the original of ' dedication , ' is properly devoting , or appropriating , and that is the duty we have to perform . To dedicate , set apart , and assign this building to the uses of Masonry , and the only ' consecration' we will seek to perform is to permit the heart silently , yet exuitingly , to respond to the

symbolical leferences of our dedicatory service , and each man , a celebrant for himself , to consecrate his heart to virtue and universal benevolence . An ancient charge , nut now often used , says : ' A lodge is a place where Fieemasons assemble to work and to instruct and improve themselves in the mysteries of their ancient science ; in an extended sense it applies to persons as well as to place . ' Ihe person , my

brethren , is the true object for consecration—that may be hallowed by kind fellowship and peaceful inclinations—and when we meet in this hall duiy 'dedicated' to Masonry , may we , ' consecrated ' in viitueand universal benevolence , bring ' dedication' and ' consecration' in union , nor seek co make those ideas alike , which separated , though joined , make a concord of sentiments that could govern the world . Benevolence is not always almsgiving ; literally it is '

wellwishing , ' but in a fuller sense ' well-doing ; ' also it is Charity—Charity in thought , Charity in deed , Charity in word , Charity in silence—which last is best of all and rarest of all , a truly Masonic virtue . May this place be viewed as such an honoured one for all the years it shall stand to our uses , and be a notable monument of Masonic wisdom , Masonic strength , and Masonic beauty , and let us all say— ' So mote it be . '"

We have much pleasure in adding that , since the event above referred to , Bro . Barnett his been presented with a handsome Dep . D . G . M . ' s jewel of office by sundry members of the Prince of Wales Lodge , No . 908 , brisoane , in recognition of his valuable services to Freemasonry , the great interest he has always evinced in its welfare , and as an acknowledgment ol the honour rcfl cted on the lodge by his selection to fill the important office of D . D . G . M .

ot Queensland . This jewel , ivhuh has been manufactured by Bro . George Kenning , London , is oval in fo . m , and of i 8-carat gold , with a Koyal blue centre , surrounded by a garter , on which is an elaborate wreath ot wheateais and laurels , surrounded by the name of the district in raised gold letters . The emblem of office , viz ., the square , is formed of five brilliants . The jewel is suspended from a garter blue ribbon , the top representing wheatears .

Bro. C. E. Meyer And The Angloamerican Lodge.

BRO . C . E . MEYER AND THE ANGLOAMERICAN LODGE .

At the meeting of the Anglo-American Lodge on Tuesday last , the Secretary , Bro . George Reynolds , read the following letter from Bro . C . E . Meyer , of Philadelphia : —

Philadelphia , 1 st Sept ., 1887 . "My Dear Bro . Baker , " After a very pleasant trip across the broad Atlan * tic , we reached home in safety . " The passing of time increases the pleasant recollections of the evening spent in the Anglo-American Lodge under your Mastership on July 21 st , 18 S 7 .

" lo my mind the importance of such a meeting cannot be over estimated . It was not an individual or personal matter for those who were received , but it was a tangible , positive recognition of the universality of Freemasonry . It is true that those received by you so handsomely were all from the United States , yet , when it is considered that these brethren came from different parts of this great

country , from Grand Lodges as soverei gn in their own jurisdiction as the Grand Lod ge which gave you life and leave to live and to do a Mason ' s work , it must cause a young initiate to feel thathe was entering into a Society that , go where he would on the face of the wide world , was ever ready to open its doors and kindly greet him , come when he would .

' It is the strongest evidence against the attacks of out enemies , and in spite of Papal Bulls of Excommunication , etc ., it exemplifies that Freemasonry is not treason , nor is it inimical to the interests of Church or State ; and that it flourishes wherever mankind are left free to judge for themselves , and where education is free to all in Republics , Monarchies , or Empires .

A brother sitting at home by his own fireside , or at the Altar of Freemasonry , can have no conception of the privileges that Masonry gives to its members . One must go from home to realise its importance , and 1 can assure you that I never experienced this so much as during our late visit to England . On our landing at Londonderry we found the brethren open-handed , waiting to welcome us , and in Port Rush

so , tJelfast , Kilwinning , Glasgow , hdinburgh , Newcastle-on-lyne , York ( grand old city ) , and London ; everywhere a welcome , and more than a welcome , so in leaving for home the brothers' benedictions followed us and bid us God speed . _ "We think of the pleasant sight of the two flags blended in the decoration of the banquet hall and the lodge room , and also in your seal and coat of arms ; the conception of such union

a was a Masonic one , and the time is now when these two flags wield an influence in the world that commands respect and confidence . Time may come when the English speaking nations may all be under one flag , but there can be no stronger bonds then than there are now , under the banner of ancient Craft Masonry . " Will you please present to the officers and members of the Anglo-American Lodge the fraternal greetings and salutations of the American brethren , and of your brother ,

"CHARLES E . MEYER "Brackstone Baker , Esq ., " S , Belmont Park , Lee , Kent . "