Red Cross Of Rome And Constantine.

satisfaction and a hearty appreciation of the ready , courteous , and efficient manner in which the 111 . Grand Ree . aided the establishment and working of the conclave . Among the items of correspondence received from Sir Knt . Little were extracts from the Book of Statutes concerning the office of the M . P . S . and the obligation to be entered into on his enthronement . As this had not been formally carried out on the occasion of Sir Knt . Gallienne's appointment to the chairhe was now required

, to give his assent to the said statutes . He accordingly stood forth iu the body of the hall while Sir Knt . Hutchinson , as the original Sovereign of the conclave , demanded of him an affirmator . y reply to the necessary questions . A letter was read from the H . P ., suggesting that , in addition to holding that honourable position , he had also been solicited to act as Recorder , it would conduce to the well-being of the conclave if one of those

offices were transferred to another ; accordingly the M . P . S . appointed Sir Knt . Stiekland , H . P ., and Sir Knt . Clarke , Rec . Sir Knt . Galienne next announced that he had received from the Grand Imperial Council his diploma ns Inspector General of the Guernsey division , and said that he hoped no circumstance would occur in which the harsher duties of his office would have to be exercisedshouldhowevera needs-be ariseit must

; , , , be understood that ( though as far as possible mercy would be tempered with justice ) justice would ever be duly administered . The Acting Recorder now stated that the Charter of Constitution had been received , also the members' certificates , which were distributed , after which the conclave was then closed in due form , and the Sir Knts . retired for refreshments .

Address.

ADDRESS .

We are indebted to the Voice of Masonry for the following address -which was delivered by Bro . W . B . R . Runyan , afc a meeting of the lodge afc Princeton , N . J . : —¦ " I feel somewhat embarrassed in attempting to address you this evening on a subject which some of you have no doubt heretofore considered as being under the lock and seal of Masonic mysteryand in a place where

, your imaginations have often pictured that no exercises were allowed to be witnessed except by those whose sufferings on the gridiron , and equestrian exploits on the goat , have qualified them to be numbered among the faithful . " However natural this supposition may be , ifc is erroneous . Masonry has indeed her secrets , which are unknown to all but the initiated , bun her design , her

benevolent and philanthropic spirit , have been and are understood by all minds which have taken the trouble to examine her records , where they can find nothing to suggest the idea of an expunging process to blot out a single line of her history . The design of fche Masonic institution is to make us wiser , better , and consequently , happier . The principal subject which Masonry , as a speculative science , has to deal with is man . It seeks to

unfold in him a proper appreciation of the Deity and his works , and in all his laudable undertakings to look for applause and guidance to the Author of all wisdom , the Almighty ruler of the universe . His moral sensibilities are to be developed and exercised , his intellect cultivated and refined , his evil passions subdued , and , all acting together in accordance with nature ' s laws , impress the

world with the importance and dignity of the individual man . When we take into consideration that he is made in the image and likeness of the Supreme Architect of the Universe , and that the same Almighty Being breathed into his nostrils the breath of life , we will realize in a measure the importance of the subject . In our physical construction we are fearfully and wonderfully made ,

presenting instances of astonishing endurance and tenacity to life , and instances to impress us how easily the " silver cord is loosed " and the vital spark suddenly extinguished . While as Masons we contemplate and properly estimate the mysterious processes of human life , and are filled with wonder at the infinite wisdom and knowledge of a Being who governs and directs the pulsations of every human heart , as well as the movements of worlds and systems of worlds which geometry

reveals , and by hypothesis worlds and systems of worlds beyond the reach of human observation and conception ; yet feel grateful that he has implanted in man the noblest of all his gifts , reason , which , if properly exercised and guided by the Great Light in Masonry ( the Holy Bible ) , which always has a prominence on the Masonic altar , * ' that Book of Books , the only book by which the bark

of man can navigate the sea of life and gain the port of bliss securely , ' will direct his steps through the intricate paths of life to a safe and peaceful haven . Freemasonry is designed to take hold of man in his rude and natural state , and , by developing the nobler powers of his nature , prepare him intellectually and morally for the various duties which he may be called upon to perform ,

' while travelling through this vale of tears . ' Ifc recognises the fact that unless the passions of man , that rage within his breast like an ocean amid a storm , be not regulated and subdued , they will operate as a destroying element , as a consuming fire ; consequently he is met afc the very threshold of the Temple , and in the most impressive manner made acquainted with its absoluts

and vital importance . Tongues cannot depict the wretchedness , suffering , and misery produced , in the world by the unrestrained exercise of the passions . Men may be found in every station and avenue of life with shattered constitutions , ruined fortunes and blasted hopes , showing the results unmistakably , in their presentation , of the fearful wreck the passions have been

making in the individual man ; and when we take into consideration the mental anguish and suffering occasioned by these acts to those more intimately connected with them , as well as the effect upon society in general , we cannot but realize the importance of this branch of Masonic teaching ; for by teaching the individual man to control his passions you prepare him in the aggregate to be good citizens and rulers , under whose harmonious and enlightened sway no foreign or fratricidal war would drench a land in blood or fill ifc with the weeoinsf and

wailing of orphans . The human passions is a theme which is dwelt upon in the Holy Scriptures , where we may find ' line upon line and precept upon precept . ' The minister , while standing behind the sacred desk , proclaiming the everlasting gospel of peace , struggles , with all his powers of mind and soul , for the reduction of this disturbing and destroying element . Learned

disquisitions on the same subject may be found among the writings of moralists and philosophers in all ages of the world . Freemasonry , from remote antiquity , by her beautiful and harmonious system and regularity , leads her subjects , step by step , and , by keeping constantly before their minds the essential qualifications of a good Masontouches and opens their hearts graduallto

, y receive those principles of morality and virtue which prompt them to deeds of charity , ' to soothe fche unhappy , to sympathize with their misfortunes , to compassionate their miseries and to restore peace to their troubled minds . ' Her moral code cannot be improved—it needs no revising , enlarging , or changing . It is founded on the immutable truths of the Bibleindisputable and

, eternal . Through a long succession of centuries , amid the wreck of empires and the darkness of the middle ages , she preserved her light undimmed , and emerged in all her beauty and brilliancy , like gold tried in the furnace . No other system ever devised by men to impress on mankind great moral truths has over had the power to unite men of different nationalities , religions , habits and

customs , scattered over every part ofthe habitable globe , to work together in harmony , and all seeking to purify the moral atmosphere , teaching mankind the necessity of walking 'uprightly , in their several stations , before God and man , squaring their actions by the square of virtue , and reminding them that . they are travelling on the level of time toward " that undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveller returns . "' There is something that inspires us with thoughts above ourselves when we contemplate the genius , the pure spirit