Consecration Of The Downshire Lodge, No. 2437, At Wokingham.

F . } . Ferguson , P . M . 414 , P . P . S . G . W . ; T . J . Moncrieff , A . D . C . 1044 ; and F . R . HaU , P . M . 340 . A large number of visitors were also present . ' The Deputy Prov . Grand Master very ably performed the ceremony , and Bro . the Rev . J . M . GUILDING gave the following impressive oration : It is the custom of our Order , that before proceeding to the dedication of a new lodgeconsecrated to the service of the Great Architect of the Universe , a charge

, should be delivered to officers and members of the new lodge , reminding them of their great responsibilities , and in conformity with this custom , the duty devolves on me , by command of the Deputy Prov . Grand Master , to say a few words on the nature and princip les of that great Institution to which we belong , which we believe has exercised a mighty influence for good in the past , that is destined to do a great and beneficent work in the future . Suffer me , honoured brethren , with all respect and humility , to remind you of those great moral truths which are the

basis of our Order , and upon which your lodge must be ever mindful if it is to flourish and become a pillar of strength to Alasonry . It is well for builders to lay their foundations firm and strong , and to ask at the very outset " What mean we by this service ? " What is the ' teaching of the mystic rites in which we are about to engage ' . What practical lessons may we gather from the impressive ceremonial of this dedication office ? It is no idle formality , it is more than a stately and picturesque function . The true Mason is one ever seeking for wisdom

and for light , vvho regards and values symbolism only as a vehicle of truth , who looks beyond the sign to the thing signified . What then is a lodge ? And why is the opening of a new lodge a memorable occasion in the history of the Craft ? _ A lodge is a Masonic Temple . Symbolically a Mason ' s lodge is a representation of the world , which is itself the primary temple of the Most High . " Heaven is Thy Throne , and Earth is Thy footstool . " " O Lord , how manifold are Thy works , in wisdom hast Thou made them all . " The idea of a Temple is a spot or space

severed and cut off from all profane use ( tcmfndum ) cf . tcmpur ; a division consecrated for the contemplation and observation of Works of God . But it has pleased the Most High to make a further revelation of His goodness to man ; to make his habitation as it were in our midst . " In all places where I record My name , I will come unto thee and bless thee . " Technically , a lodge is a representation of the Ark of Covenant , constructed by Bezaleel according to form prescribed by God Himself , and which Solomon , our first Grand Master , took

as his model in the erection of that magnificent structure , the first Temple of Jerusalem . But there is a personal and practical application of the idea of consecration of which a Mason is ever conscious . The idea of self consecration that he himself ( body , soul , and spirit ) is a Temple of God and should be kept pure and upright , meet for the Alaster ' s use , and when he enters the consecrated portals of the lodge , the visible Temple , he is reminded he must lay aside all mean and

base and selfish thoughts and breathe forth a nobler aspiration for light and guidance . And Chiefly Thou , O Spirit , who dost prefer Before all Temples the upright heart and pure , Instruct me , for Thou knowst , what in me is dark Illumine . What is low , raise and support .

Such then the lessons your lodge is intended to teach . Govern it , my honoured brethren , on these principles and your lodge will be a blessing to its members and an honour to the Craft , and flourish and endure . Realise that it ought to be a Temple of virtue , of Charity , of wisdom , and you will make it one . Make it , I emplore you , a temple of fraternal concord . Remember that the Grand Architect of the Universe has made of one blood all the nations upon earth . This is the witness and testimony which we Alasons bear to our generation that no difference

of class or creed , or politics . No clashing of human interests in the struggle and competition of life shall bind tis to the great fact of brotherhood of man , homo homini lupus was the bitter sarcasm of Hobber homo homini vitlpes might be taken as the principle of modern life ; but to the Mason the law of Masonry is supreme , homo homini frater . The words of the Jewish King to Jonadab are the rule of conduct he lays down . , 1 care not for class , distinctions , I care not for relig ious differences . I care not for political controversies . But are you a lover

of peace , a lover of truth , a lover of light . Is thine heart right with my heart in seeking these more excellent things ? " If so , give me thine hand . " Make your lodge also a temple of practical Charity . This is the golden rule of Alasonic morals . Do not tell me how a man died ; tell me how he lived . Has he done ought to relieve the burden of the weary , to give solace and comfort to the sorrowful . The mystic ceremonies of the consecration will confirm this . Whyfore do we scatter corn and wine and oil and salt ? It is to remind us that in the

pilgrimage of human life we must bestow our bread on the hungry , our wine to cheer the sorrowful , the oil of consolation to the afflicted , and the salt of friendship to our fellow-men . Lastly , make your lodge a temple of wisdom and moral instruction . Thc PROV . GRAND SECRETARY read the petition to Grand Lodge , which was recommended by the ofiicers of the Greyfrairs Lodge , Reading , and also by the D . P . G . M .

At the close of the ceremony , the D . P . G . M . installed Bro . Lord Arthur Hill , M . P ., P . G . M . County Down , W . M . of thc lodge . The W . M . subsequently invested his ofiicers as follows : Bros . Ferguson , as I . P . M . ; Baker , S . W . ; Higerty , J . W . ; D . M . Heron , Treas . ; Creed , Sec . ; Moncrieff , Asst . Sec . ; Powell , S . D . ; J . Parsons , J . D . ; T . R . Wells , D . C ; Fortescue , A . D . C ; J . S . Tavener , I . G . ; Crammer and Lowe , Stewards ; and Stevens , Tyler . The brethren subsequently dined together . After the repast ,

Bro . Lord ARTIIIR HILL , the W . M ., proposed "The Queen and the Craft , " which was received in thc usual loyal way amongst Masons , and was followed by the toastof "H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , M . W . G . M ; and the other Grand Officers , Present and Past . " " The Consecrating Ofiicers , the Deputy Prov . Grand Master , and the Provincial Grand Ofiicers , Present and Past , " were then toasted . The

WORSHIP . ri . MASTER said hc was very much struck with thc way in which the Consecrating Officer performed the ceremony that altcrnoon , ably assisted by the Prov . Grand Chaplain and the other Prov . Grand Officers . Bro . MORLAND , in reply , said it gave him especial pleasure lo act as Consecrating Officer for the first time , and wished thc new lodge , with its estimable Master , every prosperity .

The I . P . M ., Bro F . J . FERGUSON , then gave thc toast of the evening , "The Worshipful Master , the R . W . Bro . Lord Arthur Hill , " which was received with great enthusiasm , in whom , he remarked , they had a brother known throughout Great Britain and Ireland for the services he had rendered to the State as well as to the Craft , while locally hc was well-known

for his goodfcllowship and the interest hc took in the good old town of Wokingham , and in Berkshire generally . Thc Downshire Lodge was indeed fortunate in having for its first Master such a distinguished brother , and one so well qualified to fill the Master ' s chair . They might look forward to a brilliant and successful future for thc lod ge under the rule of its first Master , who , he hoped , would shortl y have the pleasure of initiating his nephew , Lord Downshire , after whom the lodge was named .

The WORSIIII . IL MASTER , in reply , thanked the brethren for the way they had received the toast , and promised lo do all he could for the lodge . The PROV . GRAND CHAPLAIN gave " Thc Masonic Charities , " which was suitably responded to by Bro . S . G . KIRCIIIIOI ' FI . R , P . P . S . G . W . The WOKSUII'I-UL MASTER next proposed " The Visitors , " and in Ihe

Consecration Of The Downshire Lodge, No. 2437, At Wokingham.

absence of Bro . Hermon-Hodge , who had just left to catch a train , Bro . A .. WELCH , P . P . G . Reg ., responded . The Tyler ' s toast closed the proceedings ' . The musical arrangements were under the direction of Bro . W . Hicki P . P . G . D . C , and some delig htful songs and glees were well rendered by Bros . E . Dalzell , F . W . Horscroft , H . Taylor , and G . May .

Its History Is Illustrious.

ITS HISTORY IS ILLUSTRIOUS .

The golden legend of Freemasonry gives inspiration to every student . Far back in the years , at a time unknown to men , there began a system of morality , founded upon the pure principles of righteousness , illustrated and taught by the simplest , yet the grandest symbols known to the human mind . As the tiny spring , hidden in thc mountain ' s craggy summit , bubbles out in a refreshing stream , overruns the rocks and roots that gladly make a way

for its current , widens into the brook , dancing and sparkling over its pebbl y bed , kissed in grateful delight by the nodding grasses and flowers that line its path , gathers strength and power from every laughing hill-side rivulet , until it is lost in the swell and rush of the mighty river pouring its great volume of waters into the reservoir of the fathomless sea , a blessing to the

whole earth , so this system of symbolic morality has gathered strength and power as it coursed its way through the ages of the past , receiving the glad approval of the good of all nations , until it covers the whole earth , a blessing to the sons and daughters of Adam . They call this system of symbolic morality FYeemasonry . Its history is illustrious . Its legend is golden .

Men will never know , they can never know , the good that has been done by the simple , common-place , easily understood lessons of Freemasonry . The work of the fraternity is like the work of nature , silent , but irresistible . In the darkness of the inner earth the changing growth of creation goes on , and in ages yet unborn , men will find the treasures that are to-day being conceived in the womb of nature . All this work , the making of the gold and the silver , the storing of the precious stones is done in the grandeur of

silence . It is God ' s history of creation , written by His own Almighty finger . The history of Freemasonry is written upon the imperishable tablets of human sotils . The eye of the body may become darkened , but the eye of the soul is always light . The hand of the body , and the busy brain may be pulseless and powerless , but the soul outlasts the hand and

the brain . The influence of Freemasonry upon the soul is silent but effectual . Its princip les are elevating and ennobling , and the man who comes within the mystic circle finds an atmosphere so rarified that the poison of vice , if not entirely destroyed , loses much of its virulence . Whatever was the bubbling fountain of Freemasonry , or wherever it had its rise , matters not , so long as we drink of its pure waters and bathe in its cleansing stream .

History is but the record of events . Man makes events . Therefore , the lives of men are the pages of the world ' s life story . Colossal figures rise in every age as marks of certain epochs . They are indexes to the chapter of events that follow . And so the volume of the world ' s history is marked at each successive age by the doings of a man . The life of Moses is the story of the Red Sea and the Promised Land , the smitten rock and

the tables of the Law . The life of Solomon is the building of the temple with its glory and magnificence . C . 'csar is the index to Roman history . The life ol Columbus is the discovery of America with the marvellous results of the past 400 years . In Napoleon we read ambition , Moscow and Waterloo . The story of VVashington is that of American Independence , with all that that independence has done for the world . And so the figures of men appear as the exponents of history .

Along tlie years of Masonic history appear men whose lives are interwoven with the warp and woof of its symbolism . They have stamped their individuality upon its teachings . They have proved by their acts that having tasted of the purling waters of truth , they have been made better and wiser , and have left their improved and ennobled lives as a grateful tribute to thc purity of the stream from which they drank .

Masonic history is illustrious , not only because ot the noble characters that stand as exponents of the powerful influence of its teachings , but because of its steady growth . No opposition , no matter how determined , has bcen able to destroy it . It has rather made the Institution stronger , and it is to-day more deep-rooted in the hearts of its adherents than ever before . The history of Freemasonry is marked by monuments of the skilful

operative workman as well as the imperishable souls of " just men made perfect " by its truth . The great cathedrals of the Old World , with their pinnacles and domes , their turrets and towers , their lofty windows , where the sun steals through , flooding the naves and aisles with a softened and mellow light , as though by its silent presence demanding a reverential

acknowledgment of the sacredness of the spot , are the product of operative Masonry . Upon these magnificent structures , the admired buildings of the earth , the square and compass , thc plumb and rule have been used , and true to thc unerring test of thc implements of the Craft , these evidences of an illustrious past stand perfect monuments of a perfect work .

From this operative school , with its wonderful object lessons , was evolved the speculative school in which the same unerring tests of square and compass , p lumb and rule are applied to thc hearts of men , and those whose spiritual buildings are erected agreeably to their measure , are perfect monuments of a perfect work , whose existence will run parallel with thc eternal ages of virtue . Thc history of Masonry must be taken in its continuity

from thc operative to the speculative . In the operative school thc Apprentice was required to prove his skill as a workman before he could become a Fellow , and the Fellow became a Master only after hc had learned the lessons of the tools he . had used , and was able to draw such designs upon the trestle board as would deserve thc work of the Fellow and Apprentice . It is the same in the speculative school . Thc Apprentice must be able to

appreciate the beauty of the light to which his eyes have been opened , and when he learns the lesson of the open trestle board of the Grand Architect of thc Universe , he may ascend the winding stairs , and be taught the beautiful lessons of a wonderful science , which will prepare his heart to meet the responsibilities of life , and receive the sure reward that follows a strict adherence to integrity and virtue .

Masonry has made men better . It has led Ihcm to aim at a hig her and purer life , ll has made them appreciate a nobler manhood . It has made them understand better the problem of living . It has taught them how to die . It has permeated the whole world with its pure princip les . It " raised the fallen , and rescued the dcnr . ived . It hns clothed the naked and

fed the hungry . It has built homes lor Ihe homeless , and asylums for the sick . It has educated the ignorant , and sheltered the fatherless . It "' helped the church lo ameliorate the condition of unhappy humanity . , " * influence has benefited government in establishing justice and dcstro ) 'i"S despotism . Its silent work has been felt in the very pulsation of a betie r morality in the community . Its history is illustrious . — New York DispC '