Provincial Grand Lodge Of Cumberland And Westmorland.

Brc . T . Studholme , W . M . 119 ... ... Prov . A . G . Purst . „ J . Martin , W . M . 327 ... ... ... \ „ J . Eden , W . M . 962 ... " ? U-, J' kv ' M ^ l 66 ° k ™ . G . Stwds . „ J . Fidler , W . M . 1002 ... „ [ . T . Bownass , P . M . 1390 „ ' M . C . Williams ... ... ... > „ T . Richardson , Tyler 119 ... ... Prov . G . Tyler .

The R . W . PROV . GRAND MASTER said , it being her Majesty s Jubilee year , Past Rank would be conferred upon three brethren who had held Provincial Rank before in the province , these three Craftsmen having done good service for many years , not only to the province , but to Freemasonry generally , and the honours would be to Bro . A . J . NeLon , P . G . Treas ., to the rank of Past S . G . W . ; Bro . G . Ryrie , P . P . S . G . D ., to the rank of Past J . G . W . ; and Bro . W . Middleton , P . G . Asst . Sec , to the Past Rank of S . G . D . The brethren were presented to the R . W . P . G . M ., and they were invested and

greeted accordingly , also the newly-invested officers of the year previous to Prov . Grand Lodge being opened . Bro . George Kenning , P . G . D . of Middx ., presented the R . W . Prov . G . M . with a beautiful medal , expressly manufactured by that well-known firm in commemoration of her Majesty ' s Jubilee . His lordship , in accepting the gift , expressed himself highly pleased with it , as did as many of the brethren that saw it , it being a perfect work of art , and we trust it will , in days to come , be another link in the chain nf rmr Masonic relics .

"Hearty good wishes was given by the province and visitors , and there being nothing further for the good of the Order , Prov . Grand Lodge was closed in due form , and the Grand D . of C . formed the brethren in line and marched them in procession to Holy Trinity Church , headed by Bro . J . Lawson ' s brass band , where upwards of 300 of the Craft listened to an excellent sermon preached by Bro . the Rev . J . Anderson , P . G . Chap ., from the words "Show thyself a man , " from ist Kings , chap , ii , v . 2 .

That was a paternal admonition . It was spoken by a father to his son . It formed one of the charges addressed by King David , amid the gathering shadows of death , to King Solomon , who was to succeed him on the throne . It is natural to suppose that , like all last sayings , they would come with touching power and emphasis to the heart of Israel's approaching monarch , and be engraven on the memory , never to be forgotten , of the grand builder of Jerusalem's temple . And how was he to show himself a man ? He was to do so by obeying this injunction , " Be thou strong , therefore , and keep the

charge of the Lord thy Gor ) , to walk in H s ways , to kersp His statutes , and His commandments , and His judgments , and His testimonies , as it is written in the law of Moses , that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest , and whithersoever thou turnest thyself ; that the Lord may continue His word which he spoke concerning me , saying , If thy children take heed to their way , to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul , there shall not fail thee a man on the throne of Israel . " In likemanner , Masonry is true manhood . To be a true Mason is to be a true man . Its high

standard of morality and of religion , of intellectuality and intelligence , eminently forbids any other issue , and bars the way to any other conclusion . The trueness is made manifest , as alone it can be , by a steadfast adherence to its statutes , and the practical exemplification of its laws . A work of supererogation it would be to say that absolute perfection can be expected , because it cannot be attained , inasmuch as nothing bearing the stamp of humanity is perfect . Solomon , our Grand Master , in all his glory , was not perfect in the keeping of those charges which were committed to his care .

In tins , as in every other society , however orderly in form , sacred in principle , and complete in organisation , will be found its failings and its flaws . It may be that there are Masons and Masons . It may be that there is a discrepancy between them and that badge of innocence and bind of friendship which they wear . It may be that there is a dark hue encircling that Masonic life , which , like the morning and evening star , ought ever to be bright and clear . Nevertheless , over the porchway or entrance to that symbolical and scientific temple , as descriptive of that which is within , in figure and in fact ,

in the shadow and in the substance , in the matter and in the man , there is inscribed " the true , the beautiful , and the good ; " andover that chair wheie sits the humble representatives ? the Great King , emblazoned in the light of that All-seeing Eye which reflects its radiance there , you read this sublime motto , founded on the volume of the Sacred Law— " Whatsoever things are true , whatsoever things are honest , whatsoever things are just , whatsoever things are pure , whatsoever things are lovely , whatsoever things are of good report ; if there be any virtue , and if there be any praise , think on

these things . " At Masonry the outside world , which knows nothing of its origin and history , and is unacquainted with its merits and its claims , may be disposed to look askance , and see in its processioned ranks only a meaningless parade , and in its brilliant regalia only a splendid show . By some it may be vetoed as lhat hidden mystery which has no beauty in it that they should desire it ; which involves within it the elements of danger , and which should be exploded by the spiritual powers that be . All such apprehensions and surmisings are vain ; the learned Mason knows differently . It is his to

pass beyond the vestibule of the Masonic temple ; to draw aside the veil and view the inner circle of the Masonic brotherhood ; to ascertain for himself the goodness and grandeur of that spreading system of which he iormsa part , and revel in the discoveries of that mystic art , which he alone is privileged to behold , yet not permitted to reveal . Into the origin and history of Masonry it is not needed now to enter . That holds no place in our present plan . It is enough for us to know , as in the words of our ancient charge , that it has " subsisted from time immemorial , " descended down through the ages , oft small

and obscure , and oppressed in the course of its progress , mistaken and misused , but now , like the lost waters uf the Jordan , so memorable in sacred lore , it has risen to the surface ; its seed has been wafted by the winds of Heaven , taken root and sprung up far and near , and to-day , in this nineteenth century of the Christian era , it is counted , not by tens , but by tens of thousands in our land . It is enough for us to know that it is honourableas it is ancient , " as by a natural tendency it conduces to make those so who are obedient to its precepts . " So honourable and so estimable has it appeared to

all ranks and classes of men , that " monarchs themselves in every age have been promoters of the art , have not thought it derogatory to their dignity to exchange the sceptre tor the trowel , have patronised its mysteries , and joined in its assemblies , " and even at this hour his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales holds the highest position as Grand Master of English Masonry , surrounded also by many illustrious names which adorn the page of British nobility . It calls upon its members to be loyal subjects and good citizens ; it presses home the practice of every domestic as well as public virtueand

, ordains and recommends the lofty dictates of prudence , temperance , fortitude , and justice to be the guide and governor of all its actions . By these , and the due observance of these , as well as others , to which 1 shall now briefly advert in outline , the true manhood of Masonry shines forth . Mjisonry , let it not be forgotten , is not simply the initiation into its Order , the payment of its fee , and hence the man who ranges beneath its banner . That man is the Mason who studies to make advancement in Masonic knowledge , who reads , marks , learns , and inwardly digests , who exhibits the spirit and

principles and character of the Masonic ritual , and is thus in himself the personification of the true Mason and the living embodiment of true Masonry . 1 . There are the landmarks of Masonry . With that term we are all familiar . Their observance is another thing . Their observance can only come by their knowledge . A landmark is defined as anything which is set up to preserve a boundary . These landmarks are set up to preserve the boundaries of Masonry . Within them no stranger may transgress , and with them no hand of the alien may intermeddle . It was a Jewish crime for anyone to

remove his neighbour ' s landmark . It would be a Masonic crime to remove or reduce the landmarks of Masoniy . In themselves they are unremovable and unreducible , and are interwoven in the very existence of the Craft . What they were centuries ago they still aie . As they were in the beginning , are now , and ever shall be . No new regulation could affect their substitution or extinction . They bear the of anti

stamp quity , and are beyond the power of repeal as those things which cannot be shaken and must remain . They are indispensable to the government , regulation , and faith of the Order , and by them the stability , security , and universality of Masonry are guaranteed and maintained . Their twenty-five indelible and irrevocable enactments constitute the unwritten laws or customs of the Order , and stand out in their own distinctness and independence from all the ether emanations of Masonic

Provincial Grand Lodge Of Cumberland And Westmorland.

authority , whether local or general . They are the mirror in which every Mason may see himself , may trace the delineations of his rights and privileges , of his qualifications and obligations , and of what he is expected and entitled to believe and to do . They are there for the instruction and accomplishment of every Master Mason . And , as it is impossible to render obedience to the laws of a country without the knowledge of those laws , so is it impossible for any Mason to render a rational and satisfactory obedience lo the laws , written or unwritten , of the lodge into which h * 2 has been introduced , and over which he

may be elected to preside , without the intelligent knowledge and study of those laws . 2 . There is the symbolism of Masonry . That is a vast and varied field to cultivate . It is a gallery of glory along which to travel . It involves the whole education and literature of the Masonic art . To know , and understand , and to turn to practical account its symbols is the very perfection of Masonry , and , as nearly as possible , the perfect man . A symbol is defined as being a type , or that which comprehends in its figure a represer . tation of something else . Masonry itself is properly and truly defined as being a

peculiar system of morality , veiled in allegory , and illustrated by symbols . The Jewish dispensation was eminently symbolical . The Jewish temple in its service and its surroundings , in its sacerdotal priesthood and vestments , was eminently symbolical . It was an economy of symbols which prefigured things greater and much more spiritual to come . In that respect Masonry follows in its train . Look at its sections , its lectures , its tracings , its changes . Look at its initiations , its passings , its raisings , its exaltations . Look at its furniture , its ornaments , its colours , its tools . Look at its signs , its tokens , its terms ,

its words . Look at all of these , and see that not an item pertaining to its sacred institution and economy but is in the highest Degree sympolical , and full of the deepest signification . To condense a review of symbolic Masonry into small compass , either for the benefit of you , my brethren , or of those without our pale , would not be an easy task . What to include and what to exclude in such an attempt would be matter of difficult consideration . Moreover , we cannot illustrate , we can only specify . We cannot enter into these hidden depths , and reveal to the world that which the world cannot know . But we can give

the public ear to hear , and the public eye to see , and the public understanding to understand that in the multitude of her symbols there is a purity and a beauty , an influence and a power , fitted to raise men up to the loftiest status of moral nobility and religious worth , and that there is an attraction which should act with magnetic force to draw every man of intellect , intelligence , and principle within her free and accepted fold . When these principles die , Masonry itself will die ; and when these symbols cease to be observed , Masons themselves will cease to be . But , then , they are like the rock in the

ocean , which defies the tempest , and the billows , roll ; and there they remain in their eternal splendour , like the everlasting mountains and the perpetual hills . 3 . There are the moral and social virtues of Masonry . Morality and sociality are the life and soul of the individual , and they are the strength and character of a nation . They are the links of that chain which links society together in a bond of honourable and joyous union which ought never to be broken . That association or community which prides itself in their connection , and retains their lustrous name , must be worthy of the estimation of all men . Wherefore " no Institution can boast a more solid foundation than that on

which Masonry rests , the practice of every moral and social virtue . " That is incisive and emphatic . It is not a mere theory or idea ; it is a practice . It is not a mere empty title , which bears nothing in it or with it but a sound . It is a living reality , carried out to a demonsttation by the practical exhibition of every moral and social virtue . And how can these , my brethren , be better summed up than in the three grand principles on which our Order is founded—brotherly ! o « e , relief , and truth . What terms could give more potent and forcible expansion to every moral

and social virtue than these ? By them we are introduced into the very essence and heart of Masonry . By this combination and aggregation of virtue we get an insight into the nature of Masonry , and form an acquaintance with its objects and design . Than these three principles none can come nearer the Divine , or be cast in a more God-like mould . If any principles by which any society is or can be governed spring from that Bible which is the great light ot Masonry , these are the on « s . And if any society is or can be knit and bound together by such a moral and social alliance as these principles

invoke , Freemasonry is that one . In all his sayings and doings , feelings and affections , this is a Mason ' s resolution with regard to them , as the Jews resolved concerning Jerusalem , " If I forget thee , let my right hand forget her cunning , and let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth . " The whole drift and business of Freemasonry is to inculcate and illustrate these principles . Piques and quarrels , envies and jealousies , mean and cowardly dealings , hatred , malice , and all uncharitableness , or any other vices approaching thereunto , have neither act nor part in

these principles . It is not for such un-Masonic depravity that Masonry exists , and the man who could countenance or display it would be no Mason , but a traitor and a knave , would be the man who did his best to damage and destroy the Order , and should be ignominiously banished without its pale . Brotherly love maintains a brother's interests and defends a brother's name , lt pursues that straight line of conduct , that honour and integrity , which men of honour , integrity , and uprightness so much admire . It would scorn to betrav a brother's cause or roll his laurels in Ihe dust ; and if in anything

this golden rule should be magnified and find its truest and purest interpretation , it should be in that love of the Masonic Brotherhood , " Do unto others as ye would that others should do unto you . " That brotherly love expands its wings , not only over the whole Masonic fraternity , but over the whole human family . It regards high and low , rich and poor , as the offspring of that same Almighty Father by whom all live , and move ,

and have their being , lt places them all upon a level platform , where they are linked together by the ties of nature and the order of the great Creator for the mutual help , and support , and protection of each other . It thus unites men of every country and clime , every sect and opinion , every grade and complexion the wide wide world around , and leads to the cultivation cf that faithful and genuine friendship which rises like a majestic pillar from the basis of that brotheily love .

Tis Masonry unites mankind , To generous actions forms the soul ; In friendly converse all conjoined , One spirit animates the whole . " Relief is the natural outcome of that brotherly love . It may be an independent principle , but by Masons it is esteemed an essential element of the brotherhood . Benevolence and Charity are those truly Masonic ornaments which they are carefully charged to

maintain , _ in their fullest splendour . To relieve distress , to soothe affliction , to compassionate misery , to sympathise with misfortune , to restore peace to the troubled , to tend the fatherless , and make the widow ' s heart to sing for joy , are a Mason's chief concern . Hence the rich and varied and generous channels through which the streams of benevolence and Charity flow . Her bchoolj , her annuities , her Charities have been like rays from heaven to many a desolate and desponding soul , and clothed Masonry to them in the festive garments of gladsome light and liberty . Truth springs from love . When

there is the one there is the other . To love is to be true , and to be true is to love . A " faithful friendship is rooted and grounded in love . Truth is that divine attribute which lies at the basis of every Masonic virtue . To be good and true are among the first noble lessons and teachings of Masonry . No Mason , like Pontius Pilate , needs to ask " what is truth ? " He knows it means absolute fidelity and confidence . He knows it means the opposite of hyprocisy and deceit . He knows it means inviolable adherence io solemn vows and obligations . He knows it means the five points of fellowship carried

out to the letter . He knows it means that hand , that foot , that knee , that breast , that back fulfilled in their symbolical significance both in mind and in deed . He knows it means sincere and honest dealing , the union of heart and tongue in promoting each other ' s welfare , and seeking the advancement and prosperity of the Craft . Such is Masonic truth in its exposition and its parts , pure as the dewdrop , and sterling as the finest gold , the priceless garniture of every lodge , the loveliest clothing of every member , an ornament around the neck of youth , and a crown of glory upon the hoary

head" Great , generous , virtuous , good , and brave , Are titles Masons justly claim ; Their deeds shall live beyond the grave , Which some unborn shall loud proclaim . " 4 . There is the religion of Masonry . Masonry is not infidelity . Masons are not unbelievers . What arc those moral and social virtues ? What are those three grand principles of brotherly lovereliefand truth ? What are they but iust the teachings 0 '

, , religion and the graces of Christianity . As lodges , like churches , stand east and west , so the ethics of the one are the ethics of the other . Does Masonry inculcate brotherly love ? So does the Church desire for " all nations unity , peace , and concord . " Doe Masonry advocate relief ? So does the Church pray " to defend and provide ^ for tn fatherless children and widows , and all that are desolate and oppressed . ' u ° .. Masonry enjoin truth ? So does the Church implore deliverance " from all the dece of the world , the flesh , and the devil , " and "to bring into the way of truth all such •*