Inaugural Address To The Masonic Archæological Institute, Upon Friday, 29th January, 1869.

books , under the plea of decent reserve as to mysteries , they are only expansions of the same inanities , with long declamations 0 : 1 the beauty of the system . Now , as the real aim of the best men is tho acquirement of knowledge and their own improvement , it is not surprising that such men become greatly dissatisfied , nor can all the exhortations of the most steadfast

maintain them within the pale ; for what to tho mass of men is a groat promotion and a great enjoyment is to them a most serious loss . The constant performance of the same ceremonies in a stereotyped abridgment is one of the greatest trials o £ human patience , and no extent of laudation suffices to make it palatable . The chance of participating further as a

celebrant is seldom an adequate temptation . In vain arc the virtues of charity set forth , and the merit of those excellent establishments , the Masonic benevolent institutions . It is difficult to persuade fho professional man , who has his own provision for decayed members , widows , and orphans , that a great aim and end of life

is the stewardship or governorship of the three Masonic charities . The member contributes , it may be , but he foregoes his membei-ship . The loss of members takes place at each stage of tho career . Some drop off after initiation , some persevere to ¦ several degrees , some retire after serving

office , and then , thinking they have paid all fees and discharged all duties , bid farewell to Freemasonry , with a kindly feeling , but with a fixed determination to devote no more time to its proceedings . Eating and drinking are strong inducements to some men but feeble barriers to keep in those who yearn for better thinns .

Thus it way be said without disguise that although Freemasonry enlists all ranks of society , there is a constant departure of its best members , through the stage of indifference to that of absenteeism and thence lo total alienation , while there must in the nature of things be a residuum of the great mass of members ,

who are less desirable and less valuable . There is , consequently , ever among us a majority , inert for intellectual advancement , however laudabl y zealous in tho maintenance of the fabric of Masonry aud in noble devotion to its charities . The several degrees and orders , other than those of

the simple craft degrees , do not materially affect the course of events , although they may entangle some members for a time in their administration . It may safely be said that they neither explain their own relations nor those of the craft degrees , and rather augment the perplexities of the enquirer and feed his dissatisfaction .

It is under such circumstances that we find inside and outside of Freemasonry those who hold that it is a profitless employment of time , and that it has nothing worthy of consideration . It is to be remarked , on the other hand , that , notwithstanding all such expressions , for above a hundred years Freemasonry has constituted a great and growing organisation in all countries ,

enlisting men of all nations and religions . If in this country a consistent and conscientious abstinence from political or sectarian influence diminishes its social and political importance as an organisation , this is by no means the case mother countries , and the consideration of Freemasonry as a whole exhibits it as aninstilution exercising very great influence on society . Its real history

con-. fleets it with the secret practices of many bodies of craftsmen , and with the most ancient forms of association for mystic , celebrations . Treat it as we will , strip it of all legendary claims , and of all pretension unjustified by the strictest evidence , we have to deal with it as a great fact , and with its relations to some very

interesting portions of human history . The examination of the various subjects connected , directly or indirectly , with Freemasonry will open a new field o £ exertion for the members of the body . This may not give every one the solution he wishes , becausein many cases , from the want of evidencethe

, , truth will evade our grasp , but we must nevertheless arrive at some solid conclusions of interest , not only to ourselves , but to men of learning outside our body . The moment is particularly favourable . Public attention is extended to Freemasonry even in the hi ghest ranks . This is the twenty-fifth year of the Grand

Mastership of the Earl of Zetland . Grand Lodge has at length provided a building for its members apart from the tavern , with which Masons have been too long connected in their own notions and in those of the public . The appropriation of the hall to Masonic purposes necessarily ensures the

establishment of the library . There are in the possession of Grand Lodge a number of records and documents , the study of which will be of much service , and once the attention of members is called to the subject there will be large accumulations of books and other collections

of this description . In our slusrt existence we have already lost one of our earliest supporters , the late Wm . Gray Clarke , Grand Secretary , who was a cultivator of Masonic studies . Of those connected with Grand Lodge , no better testimony can be offered than that of our meeting this eveniug within the precincts of

the building , as a liberal acknowledgment ofthe cultivation of learning . Another example of the spirit of the time is the formation of a library by the Council of the Ancient and Accepted Rite . In most respects , however , everything has yet to be done . The greatest zeal has been displayed in those

countries where it can produce the smallest fruits . That great branch of the English nation established in the United States early accepted from our Grand Lod ge the systems of working , and they have carried out the organisation to a wide extent . American Masons have printed muchbut their own recordsin the

, , nature of things , afford them little , and they hava chiefly republished , or worked up , the defective material from here . The same state of affairs has impeded the efforts ofthe German writers . The want of accurate knowled ge of this the central country of Grand Lodge Masonry has not onlembarrassed the

y German enquirers , but exposed them to be deceived by spurious documents . The French authors have devoted themselves chiefly to the internal and personal history of Masonry in France , supplemented by the various growths of imposture and false philosophy .

Hie elements of Masonic history have not as yet been suflicienil y supplied . We want a large knowledge of the personal history of the persons engaged in the building up ofthe system ; we want a collection of stray passages in newspapers , books , and letters ; we want internal materials and all the evidence as to the external influences affecting the organisation of the system . In default of these , we have been exposed