Consecration Of The United Service Royal Ark Mariners Lodge, No. 489.

Consecration of the United Service Royal Ark Mariners Lodge , No . 489 .

M ^ HE following oration was delivered at the consecration I of the United Service Lodge of Royal Ark Mariners , No . 4 89 . at Mark Masons' Hall , London , on the 23 th September , by W . Bro . the Rev . C . G . L . Wright , P . C . N ., Prov . G . Chap . Surrey , Dist . G . Chap . N . Africa , P . P . G . Chap . N . and E . Yorks .:

—"We are met together to-day to add one more lodge to the roll of those that already exist on the register of the Grand Council of the Antient and Honourable Fraternity of Royal Ark Mariners , held under the a ; gis of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons for England and

Wales and the Colonies and Dependencies of the British CroAvn . It Avas my great privilege to act as Chaplain when the United Service Lodge of Mark Master Masons Avas consecrated , and I esteem it an especial honour that I should be again asked to officiate to-day . It Avas on December 14 th ,

18 93 , that the lodge came into being , and its career has been so successful that the members have felt they are now in a position to add the key-stone to their Avork by the formation

of an Ark Mariner ' s Lodge . " I remember on that occasion I stated that it Avas an interesting circumstance that a lodge , intended especially for members of the Army and Navy , should be founded at a time when an expedition was just going forth to vindicate the honour of England . That Avas a comparatively small Avar ,

and I might almost make the same remark again , only on this occasion Ave are engaged in a Avar of considerable magnitude . I am not going to say much about it . There is a very Avise rule in Masonry which forbids allusion to matters of a politically controversial nature , but all parties

are agreed as to the noble character and heroic efforts of both our lines of defence from the highest to the lowest . Of course , the army has naturally had the greatest opportunities , but both branches of the service have at different times highly distinguished themselves and won the enthusiastic

gratitude of their fellow-countrymen ; and I trust that the formation of another lodge , principally for the members of these two professions , may aid in binding them together in even closer union and concord .

" The Royal Ark Mariners Degree is of great antiquity , though it is impossible to say exactly how it originated . It Avas much in favour , and extensively Avorked , during the 18 th Century under a Grand Lodge of its OAVII , and in the year 1793 H . R . H . the Duke of Clarence , afterwards King William IV ., was Grand Commander of the Order . Their

Royal Highnesses the Dukes of Kent and Sussex also belonged to it . But from various causes , after this period , the Degree languished ; and at last , after many negotiations , it Avas transferred to the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons , Canon Portal , who Avas then Grand Master , being

the first Grand Commander . " Hence it is that the Degree is only conferred upon a regular Mark Master Mason , and that every Lodge of Royal Ark Mariners must be attached to a Mark Master Mason ' s Lodge .

" The Degree itself Avas founded , as you are Avell aware , to commemorate various interesting circumstances connected with that terrible flood of waters which once devastated the earth . " It is an extremely interesting fact that the authenticity

of the Flood does not depend entirely on the Book of Genesis , though the Volume of the Sacred Law is given to us Masons as the rule and guide of our faith , and as such Ave ought to regard it . Yet the universality of the deluge is corroborated in so many different quarters that

the evidence is almost overwhelming . The Sacred Books of all nations refer to it . Not only is there a long account in the Bible , but Egypt and China , Lapland , and

the hardy Norseman , have their own version of it , and Avhat is more curious , in each case there is an account of the doA'es and the olive-branch , or some very close equivalent . It is to be found , too , in the ancient Vedas of the Hindoos , amongst the Greeks and Romans , and even the Red Indians of North America .

" We do not exactly know A \ iiat Avas the scientific cause of the Flood , but it has been suggested that it Avas caused by the changing of the Polar line through the attraction of the central sun , round which our system revolves . This would cause vast fields of ice to be suddenly projected from the

Pole to the Equator , which , as Ave know , took place during the glacial epoch , Avhen all the tropical vegetation and those enormous creatures , which Ave still speak of as antediluvian monsters , were destroyed . " No doubt the earth is very different now to what it was

then . Countries now separated by large tracts of water must then have been joined , and if it were not too far from our subject , it might prove an interesting speculation to discuss the connection there must have been between the Aborigines of America and other continents . But if Ave

wanted anything further ' than our faith , Ave have got it in the universal consensus of opinion , and it is our duty , as Ark Mariners , to maintain to the best of our power the traditions Avhich h . ive been handed down to us .

" There is , perhaps , less esoteric teaching among Royal Ark Mariners than in the majority of Masonic Degrees . Its lessons are mostly of a simple , practical nature , but our attention is more especially directed to the virtues of Wisdom , Strength , and Beauty . Wisdom is a virtue which is very essential for us all , but in the first instance it cannot be attained to at once .

" It is a gift from the S . G . C of F . U ., which Ave must pray for , but if we receive the genus of it , Ave may then cultivate it , even as it is our duty to cultivate all our intellectual faculties . " 'Wisdom sits alone , Top-most in Heaven . She is its light—its God ;

And in the heart of man she sits as high—Though grovelling eyes forget her oftentimes , Seeing but this Avorld's idols . The pure mind Sees her forever : and in youth Ave come , Fill'd Avith her sainted ravishment , and kneel

, Worshipping God through her SAveet alt . 'ir-iires , And then is knowledge good ! ' " "In our earliest Degrees stress is laid on the necessity that the W . M . should be ; i man of wisdom and good reputation , and it is equally necessary that the W . C . N , in this Degree

should be too , for he is the leader of the brethren and they naturally look to him for direction . But he , too , no matter how gifted he may be , can do but little Avithout their assistance ; and , therefore , they should do their utmost to support the Master of their choice . We all ought to try

continually to add to our knowledge and to strive after wisdom , for the most gifted of kings says of her— " Wisdom is better than rubies , and all the things that may be desired may not be compared to her . "

" Strength , again , is another grace which Ave must pray to attain . The W . C . N , must be a strong man , for no one can hope to rule successfully unless he lias the courage of his convictions . But the strength which is especially to be desired by us all , is that of being able to overcome our trials and troubles when they come upon us . No lodge can hope

to be absolutely and perfectly successful . It will have its worries and difficulties , just as all human beings have . We can never hope to be entirely free from them in this Avorld , which is only a state of probation for something better ; but AA'hen trials do come to us , as they must , Avhether in or out of