Address Of P.G.M. Bro. Hon. Richard Vaux, At Centennial Of American Union Lodge.

distance by perspective , fail to appreciate the real , in the delusions ot the apparent . But , in the chronology of Jehovah , a century expresses no definite period , for with Mm , " a thousand years are but as yesterday . " By human computation a century marks the boundary of human life

, for it comprises within its circumference generations of men , " passing through nature to eternity . " Time in its progress from the past to the future , is joined by thousands of companionsAvhoexcited by enthusiastic

, , energy , yet lag at last , and fall by the way , into oblivion . Of all who began the journey , there is but one Avho will hold out to the end , and this is Truth . Time and Truth will go together from the

unfathomable to the illimitable . If it were possible to stand on the mountain peaks of Centuries and behold the progress of Time , the grand spectacle would present to the soul of man the conviction , that Truth only of the pilgrims ,

was side by side with Time—while all along the pathway of progress are skeletons of errors , stark and bare , witnesses of combats for triumph ended in failure , or defeat . As time is beyond the control of mortalt , it is fortunate for humanity that

Truth can be made potent for the great interests of mankind . It can be the subject of study , may be known , is to be guarded , should not be despoiled while imparting its benefactions to the generations , and continuing its journey Avith Time .

The student who seeks to learn the laws of the sciences which teach of the organisms of the universe , to know the history of Races , understand the structure of languages , comprehend the relations between the earliest of days and epochs Avhich have followed themhas to delve among the

, accumulations of the probable , the possible , and the reasonable , and the layers , strata , and deposits with which Time has incrustated them , to discover Truth , and to separate it from the errors which have fastened themselves to it , as the virgin

gold is blended with the earths and other compounds , needing careful effort to disengage it from these alloys . When Time has made its record there will also be formed the evidence of the existence of Truth , It is not unfrequently

that both are noAv beyond the reach o discovery , or that if found , they can be translated for the understanding of the intelligent investigator . Yet it is among the encouragements Avhich Hope gives to Faith for persistent labour , that researches are bringing to the light of day what has been entombed for ages in the darkness of the aforetime .

It is , therefore , the high duty , as well as responsibility of the teacher , he Avho has the opportunity of addressing the thinker , the learner , the seeker , the doubter , and the believer , ever to remember , that the most lasting impressions , the real value ol his lessons , the enlightenment of instruction and the benefits he hopes to impart , must be founded in the conscientious determination to declare the Truth .

Human institutions which comprise in their scope political organisms , government , either federal or state , monarchical , republican , or imperial , or those which haA-e a lesser circumference , restricted to the social needs of mankind , are the outcomes of the lessons Time has written on

the page of history . But those human institutions on which has been imposed the sublime mission of guarding and transmitting Truth to the coming time , have their foundations in the Divine Sanction .

These thoughts are suggested by the occasion which brings together this earnest , thoughtful , intelligent assemblage of men , who are uniting in a ceremony which dedicated to Time , dignifies Truth . Out of the ages come to us its teachings , else they Avould not have remained unto us till

this day . The proceedings in which we now participate , the ceremonies Ave are now performing , the purpose Avhich both aid in perfecting , and the character of the organization which makes them peculiar

and exceptional , are exclusively within the province of the fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons . This institution has for centuries attracted the attention of the world . When it originated , how it was developedhy what process it Avas

organ-, ized into a power among men , are subjects which have excited the deepest interest . We have now no purpose Avhich renders an exhaustive investigation of either , needful or pertinent .