Masonic Address.

MASONIC ADDRESS .

npHE following interesting address by the Grand Master of Canada , M . W . J- Bro . J . A . Henderson , at the dedication of the new Masonic Temple , St . Thomas ' s , will be read with pleasure b y his brethren in the old country .

BRETHREN , LADIES AND GENTLEMEN , —I thank the brethren of St . Thomas for the very handsome present of this gavel . The manner in which it has been given shows the truly generous spirit which prompted the offer , and which spirit , imbued with Masonic zeal , has successfully urged the brethren to rear and embellish this hall dedicated to Freemasonry . The gavel will be retained

by me as an evidence of the friendl y feelings exhibited by my brethren of this town , and will ever remind me of this pleasant visit . I must congratulate them on this handsome temple , and it is one of the evidences of the growing and advancing spirit of Freemasonry that the new halls in -which the precepts of our Order are inculcated should be worthy of our time-honoured institution . I am happy to meet so numerous ancl respectable an assemblnot onlof the

y , y brethren of the mystic tie , but of those who , not belonging to the Order , I may fairly claim as being friendly to our ancient fraternity . On this occasion I have been called on to make a few remarks explanatory of that Society of which in this Province I have the honour to be the head , but those remarks must of necessit y be not only general but brief , for while some would appreciate speeches eulogistic of the Orderyet I must consider the wishes and

, feelings of others who do not desire any encroachment on the musical entertainment of this evening , which our brethren of St . Thomas have so thoughtfully provided . So far as our rules will permit , I will endeavour to explain " What is Freemasonry , " that we may not be misunderstood b y those who do not rank under our banners , and that we may not be held in disesteem by the

loveliest and fairest of the works of the Almi ghty Architect . Freemasonry is an art , more properly a science , founded on the principles of geometry , and directed to the service and convenience of mankind ; its end , moral , and purpose is to subdue our passions—not to do our own will—to make a dail y progress in a laudable art , to promote charity , good fellowship , good nature , and humanity , all of which may be summed up in the words—Reli gion ancl

Philanthropy . Its lessons are , for the most part , veiled in allegory ancl illustrated by symbols , and , with the Hol y Bible ever open , it has been well termed " the handmaid to religion . " It is an ancient Institution , where men of all shades of opinion in religion ancl politics may meet ancl exchange the right hand of fellowship , may pursue their mental researches into the regions of science ancl morality without fearing any collision from hostile inions

op which may sever the links of harmony and brotherly love by which their hearts are cemented and knit together . Wealth , power ancl talents are not necessary . An unblemished character ancl a virtuous conduct are the only qualifications which are requisite for admission into the Order . Freemasonry is divided into three degrees or stages of advancement , which have an apt and obvious reference to the progressive state of man . The first degree is emblematical of

the darkness of the chaos which preceded man ' s creation , of the night by which his mind was obscured after his ori ginal transgression till the li ght of natural religion first beamed into his soul . The second degree is characteristic of our advance into the dawn which ushered the refulgence of the li ght which revealed the Creator ; whilst in the third degree the brother is brought to the bright blaze of the fullest revelation , to that bri ght star whose risin" -