Address.

ADDRESS .

DELIVERED BY BRO . METHAM , D . PROV . G . M ., DEVON , AT THE CONSECKATION OF LODGE OP UNITY , NO . 1332 , CREDITON . Of the many claims made upon me from time to time there are none I more readily acknowledge that one like the present . It is an occasion on which inclination and duty run together . If , therefore , very worshipful sir , I

fail to-day in the task you have set me , if what I say is as feeble in matter as hesitating in manner , I must plead as my excuse that I am much engrossed in a labour which has engaged all my time and thoughts , a labour of love and patriotic effort which admits of no delay , a labour which will , I trust , for many years to come give comfort and relief to the destitute widows and orphans of a most

deserving class of our brethren , and for whom I hope to be able by-and-by , to ask the cordial sympathy and aid of my brethren ; not only in this province , not only in England , but also of all English , Scotch , and Irish Masons in every part of those vast dominions of our beloved Queen on which the sun never sets . Yet there is something in the extension of our Graftas typified by the

, opening of a new lodge which is peculiarly interesting to Freemasons at the present time . The scorching breath of war is burning the primeval curse deep into the history of our time in letters of fire ; a million armed soldiers are holding their bayonets at each others' throats ; the land is burdened with thousands of festering corpses of men and beasts of burden , and the

air resounds with the groans of the sick and wounded ; the palaces of kings , the mansions of the noble , and the hovels of the peasant , are involved in one common ruin ; the bread is snatched from the mouths of starving women and children , and their cries for pity are stilled for ever in the burning wreck of their once happy cottages . Day after day we ask each other will 'it never come , the blessed dove of peace ? Night after

nig ht it seems as if the blood of brave men , helpless women , and innocent children , had mounted up to heaven in one scarlet stream , to testify before God against the atrocious and life-reckless ambitions of Europe and Kings . Is not the creation of every new lodge a protest against such deeds ? Is it not a still small voice which , in the fullness of Jehova's own good time ,

shall be heard above the roar of cannon , levelling the mightiest fortresses , pouring oil upon the troubled waters of war and violence , teaching the lion to lie down with the lamb , bending the sword into a ploughshare , and the spear into a pruning hook ? Not in our time , will such blessed fruits be gathered ; but in every lodge , if Masons understand their mission aright ,

will the lesson be taught which the whole world . shall , by-and-by , learn ; the seed shall be sown which shall , in years , happier years , to come , ripen into the harvest of universal peace . By every Mason in his lodge , and out of bis lodge , should be laid the foundation of the great Temple of Peace of Love , each one doing all that the great Architect of the Universe has given him power and

talent to do , if it be but to carry one handful of mortar , or a single stone to build up those sacred walls . And are we not encouraged to persevere when we see on every side of us evidences that the minds of the present generation are surely , although , alas , too slowly , imbibing the great principles of universal brotherhood ? when , before our time , did men , and gentle women too , all

honour to them for their bravery and self-sacrifice ; go forth with the cross of St . John on their arms , to dare even the horrors of the battle-field , that they might mitigate the miseries of war ? AVhen , before our time , did a whole nation pour forth its treasures , and expend itself in labour , to send comfort and aid to the sick and wounded of an alien people ? Are not these pi-oofs that our principles are spreading themselves over tho whole world ? And how , too , has the theory of Ereemasonry stood the

crucial test of actual practice , between man and man , in this bitter war ? Journalists , who belong to the outer world , who themselves know nothing of , and care nothing for , Masonry , tell us that the uplifted arm has been arrested when prepared to extinguish afoeman's life , that wounded soldiers lying on the earth , and still engaged in deadly strife , have had their passions lulled , and their

fraternal emotions awakened , by a single sign or word . They tell us how they have wondered , tbat some of the sufferers found , in those who had so lately been their bitterest enemies , the most assidous watching and the tenderest nursing , never relaxing while there was need of care . These men , it is added , were Masons . At a timetoowhen national animosities have been so

in-, , tensely excited , it is encouraging to find that the liberal sentiments expressed by our exalted French brother , Mark Aries Dnfour , when leaving Lyons in charge of an ambulance , were warmly responded to by the large audience . Quoting tho well-known lines of Beranger , he said : —

"Et sans regarder labanuilre , Sous laquelle il succomba , Priez pour lui , c ' est votre frere . Et le bou Dieu vous benira . " He called upon them to forget the flag in their benevolent work , and to remember that the owed even a higher duty to humanity than to their country . Through the

lurid sulphurous atmosphere of death and calamity which overlies beantifnl France now do such deeds shine forth like the silver lining which is said to be behind the darkest cloud , like a beacon warning us of danger , and showing the way of safety into a friendly port . They show us that our principles are true , although they are not generally accepted and adopted ; they show us that Freemasonry " Spreads its beautiful images abroad ,

Which else lie furled and clouded in the clod . " I am confident , considering that the solemn obligations are self-imposed , that there is no teaching which demands more of its followers than Freemasonry , nor to the conscientious and honourable prosecution of which larger and nobler attainments are necessary . It is this conviction which has determined me always to persevere ,

however feeble and inadequate my attempts may be , in seeking to impart to my brethren my estimate of the kind of character essential to the completion of a perfect Mason , If I fail in this attempt I shall , at least have partially succeeded if I induce a single brother to reflect earnestly on the value and importance of a healthy and self-enjoined discipline when entering his Masonic

upon career . Masonry is above sectarian divisions and political parties , but as the moral life of a man is inferior to his spiritual life , so is . Freemasonry secondary to true religion . AVhile , too , it bids us keep aloof from the petty heartburnings and jealousies of national or local politics , it commands us ever to yield a willing submission to constituted authorityand enacts a faithful obedience to

, the claims of our native country . With these landmarks and safeguards , it proves itself to be based upon the noblest principles , and it is at once its strength and its glory to march in the advanced guard of progress , and to establish institutions which in after ages will become universal in the outer world , supporting in its bosom , not only a physical refuge for the destitute , but a moral

refuge always open to free thought , and , a nucleus round which all may gather who desire to promote either the bodily or mental welfare of their species . I trust that it will continue to know amonsr its member . ' , no distinction

of creed , person , or party , but that it will conserve its place as a noble , lofty , pure ground , oil which all such considerations shall merge into the one universal Heavenborn and Heaven-sent aspirations of the human soul , to be better and wiser ourselves and to make all others better and wiser too . I trust and believe that it will