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Article CORNUBIAN LODGE, No. 450, HAYLE. ← Page 2 of 3 Article CORNUBIAN LODGE, No. 450, HAYLE. Page 2 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Cornubian Lodge, No. 450, Hayle.
AVor . Bro . the Rev . G . Kennedy rising said : I am pretty well accustomed to public speaking , as you know , and contrive , as a rule , to be at homo Avhen on my legs . But for once I feel that your excess of courtesy and kindness has almost taken from me tho power of adequately addressing yon . My position to-day is somewhat sincrnlar . I am , I believe , the first minister of our religions body
Avho has occupied a Masonio chair in the British dominions . I need make no apology to tho Church with Avhich T am associated , nor to society at large for occupying this position . I regard myself as being a kind of pioneer , and fool assured thafc when Masonry is better understood , tho unnatural and untrue distinction Avhich at present exists in some men ' s minds between it and religion will bo
swept away as something ont of place and decidedly in tho road of hnman progress . It wonld bo mere affectation to say I am not proud of the position . To bo Master of a Masonic Lodgo is an honour which any true-hearted man may covet . But to bo Master of such a Lodge as tho Cornnbian , one of tho foremost in tho AVest of England , is a distinction which falls to the lot of only a favoured few . Rest assured that I am not insensible of the honour which
you havo this day done me . I am no candidate for fancy degrees in Masonry , and am inclined to regard them as to somo extent rather violating the spirit of genuine brotherhood and equality ; bnt should it ever bo my fortune to possess the adornments of even the highest grades in our Order , I will never esteem them so highly as I do the Master's symbol which you have hung around mv nock .
I take tho chair of this Lodge under several very favourable circumstances . I cannot forget , dear brethren , the spontaneity of yonr action in electing me . I came among you a total stranger as it were , but yesterday , and yon havo accorded to me the highest honour it is in yonr power to give . I could not , of course , in honour , promote my own election , and you did not expect me to stoop to
unworthy cringing or canvassing to secure the Master ' s Office ; the brethren will bear me Avitness thafc neither by word or hint have I paved the way to my own exaltation . Another very happy circumstance is the unanimity of the vote whioh has placed me at your head . Unfortunately , sometimes there is a divided vote , which I have knoAVn to rend a Lodge in twain , and leave behind it legacies
of heart-burning and jealousy , which made harmony impracticable for years . I hold my place to-day without one adverse vote , a circumstance in which I heartily rejoice . I am happy also in the recollection of your financial condition . Yon are more than solvent , having nofc only paid all current expenses for the year , but reduced the outstanding debt upon our premises . To keep our finances in a
healthy condition ; to secure a continuance of perfect harmony in the Lodgo ; to maintain its honour unsullied and its usefulness undiminished , Avill bo the object of my constant care , dnring the year of my incumbency . I cannot forget that as Masons AVO aro associated with an institution possessing and exhibiting singular vitality . It reaches , we knoAV , far back into tho hoary past ; and is venerable
with age and antiquity . It comes to us , not with the flush of untried novelty , but with the adjuncts of history , experience , strength , and fruitfulness . Many institutions which sprang np side by side with Masonry havo been weighed in tho balance of hnman Avant , and , being found wanting , have been swept aside in tho progress of ages . They Avere not bound np , in any vital sense , with the life nnd
interests of humanity . Bnt Freemasonry , ivith its eye nndimmed , and its natural strength unabated , shows no sign of failing energy . On the contrary , ifc bids fair to live as long in the future as it has done in the past ; an evidence of the soundness of its constitution . It may not be generally known that some twelve hun-, dred Lodges have been chartered and consecrated within tho past
two and forty years . Now , I cannot but ask myself , to Avhat is this vitality and progress owing ? Certainly it is not to any ostentations parade on our part . AVe do nofc boast , although Ave might , that our Order has numbered kings and princes by the hundred , and dukes and nobles by the thousand . AVe are not for ever publishing the fact that , from tho middle and upper classes , we attract officers
by tens of thousands , and wo number faithful brethren all over the Avorld by millions . AVe do not engage in tho work of proselytising . Fret-masonry has no missionaries , no propaganda ; it wins men to it by its own inherent beauty rnd goodness—a fact which stimulates every Freemason to a life which shall illustrate and adorn his principles ; and covers every unworthy member of our Craft with
shame . It is only too true thafc for centuries many have joined tho Order to satisfy Avhat , I fear , was little better than an unworthy and prurient curiosity , and having done so , cease to bo numbered with us . Nor can we forget that numbers of men bring a reproach upon ns , by making Masonry synonomouswith idleness , intemperance , and excess . Still Masonry survives and flourishes . Time , which annihilates so
mauy things , spares it . AVhile other institutions labour to ho hoard for their much speaking , and make music like that of the cuckoo , always repeating its own name , Masonry , like tho lark behind a cloud , is content to sing unseen , so long as its voice gives greeting at the gate of heaven and falls with a gentle influence upon lonely hearts below . Brethren , Masonry owes its place and power to tho principles
upon which it rests . It has for its centre faith , truth , and honour ; it has for its circumference virtue , purity , and charity . Moro particularly , it owes its position and influence to the true view which it cherishes of our human aspirations . It is in strict harmony with the perreninl instincts of tho human heart . Look where wo will , humanity shows us one thing springing like hope within it eternally ,
the consciousness of , and tho desire for , immortality . That there is for man another life Avhen his present existence has run its course , Masonry proclaims with no uncertain voice . I regard this primary element in onr organisation , this tenacious hold on immortality , as one of its highest and most helpful functions . Take away the
conviction of an after-state , and you reduce man to the level of a soulless animal . Strike out of the common heart this conception , anil you destroy all intelligent and operative distinction between vice and virtue ' . Practically , yon abolish the very spring and reastn of moral rectitude in man . Freemasonry is a power just in proportion as it tells us that while we seem to stumble over other men ' s graves until
Cornubian Lodge, No. 450, Hayle.
at last we stumble into our own , above the emblems of mortality there is an immortal mansion , to which tho pure in heart will at last ascend , and in which the just will find their reward . I trust the day will never como when , as Masons , Ave shall bo ashamed of our loyalty to this great vital instinct of the human heart . Freemasonry ia powerful also , because it gives a true answer to tho deepest of all
human needs . Looking at society , both in its natural and artificial aspects , we discover one great need , that is God . Every kind of existence has something Avhich is essential to it . Find out that which condneos to its welfare , and yon discover what belongs to ifc . Ascertain Avhafc destroys or injures it , and yon may conclude that , whatever that may bo , it does not belong to it . Now , brethren , if I look
at society as a political economist , merely seeking to promote the greatest good of the greatest number ; or , if I regard it merely as an artist , having respect to its symmetry and stability , I see no hope for humanity either actual or possible apart from God . Yon can throw no hand around men strong enough to knit them together , save that which unites them to God . Herein Masonry is again strong .
It tells ns that men aro not poor voyagers over tho sea of lifo Avith no hand at tho helm of affairs , and no haven for Avhich to steer . It gives the assurance that our prayers are not idle Avails flung to the Avinds of heaven , bnt cries which evoke from tho heart of the Infinite a quick and sure response . And in these days when the battle is set in array between faith and no faith ; when , after ages of fencing , wo
havo to face tho naked issue—is there a God or is there not ? shall wo pray or shall AVO forbear ?—this institution stands out in direct conflict with Atheism . AVhon men missed those signs by which , from the beginning , tho Great Architect of tho Universe has announced his existence , and obliterate his handwriting upon tho inner walls of our universal consiousness , Masonry takes its stand upon the dread brink
of a universe denuded of God , and warns us back . Masonry does all its work beneath the sacred symbol , and its light would be quenched and the glory gone from its scutcheon did our Lodges cease to bo to us from that hallowed associatian , Holy ground . Further , Masonry retains its place and power because it owns the only true and rational conception of human lifo . It recognizes the level of equality whioh runs
through life ; the level from whioh wo all alike start . Below that level men may sink , and above it they may rise into rank and eminence . But , in essentials , Masonry contends for manhood , free and equal beneath the canopy of Heaven . Ifc teaches us to see in every man a copy of ourselves , and we see in the race one ' s-self only multiplied by millions . The man , no matter in what land he firsb drew
breath , or however mean his garb , who advances to a Mason tho claim of a common nature is assured beforehand of a prompt and brotherly respect . In looking at it , Masonry takes into account the accidents and inequalities of life . AVe find human beings trampled down by many waysides , and stricken down upon many battle-fields
with their lives overshadowed with sorrow and overburdened with misfortune . For theso , our Order has a voice that cheers aud a hand that helps , as witness our magnificent Schools for the orphan , standing side by side Avith charitable institutions for tho aged , the widowed , and tho poor . In addition to this , Masonry contemplates a coming unity when as Burns , himself a Mason , says , —
Man to man tho Avorld around , Shall brothers be , and a' that . As faithful Craftsmen wo play our part in bringing about this welcome consummation , but how ? Nofc by framing a world-wide political programme , or hurling Governments from power , nor by formulating a world-wide religious system . In order to blond tho race into
oneness , Masonry confronts tho Avorld with this for its motto everywhere , tho common Fatherhood of God above , and the common Brotherhood of Man below . It is because onr Order cherishes theso views of lifo that the world pays it reverence and concedes to it its place and power . There are two standing popular objections to Freemasonry . From time immemorial it has been objected to on tho
scoro of mystery , and of its symbolism . Upon these grounds , and specially tho first , superstition has decried our mystic art , and ecclesiastical stupidity has risen in Avrath to launch its thunders against us ; AA-hilo tho popular mind has judged us with suspicion and disfavour . Now , AVO frankly admit that our institution has its mysteries , Avhafc then ? Is Masonry alono in this respect ? Can AVO go anvAvhere
Avithout verging upon the region of mystery ? Is not our lifo hemmed in with ifc on every side ? Nature lias her mysteries , only told to those in harmony with herself . Knowledge has its mysteries , only yielded up to patient study . Science has its mysteries , jealously guarded from any bnt tho most rdveront inquirer . Why shonld not Freemasonry also havo its mysteries , kept under wise guardianship
from idle and prying eyes ? AVe keep our mysteries under seal only from him who exhibits neither tho will nor the worthiness to know them . AVe use them to inspire that teachability and respect for those who nro Avisor than onrselves , which it is tho purpose of all genuine education to impart . Again , Masoury in its symbolism is equally far from boing singular . Tho language of signs enters very freely into
human lifo . Royalty has its symbolism , with Avhich to impress tho common mind . Law haa its pageantry , and chivalry its endless devices . Scholarship proclaims itself in hood aud degree , and religion itself clings fondly to its symbols . Every corporation has its seal ; every city its coat of arms ; and every branch of industry its distinctive badge . Nay , the universe itself SIIOAVS ns but glorious
symbols of Him who piled it in beauty , strength , and wisdom . Our imputed love of what is fantastic and showy in attire is but an illustration to the public eye of what AVO may not communicate to tho uninitiated public ear . In conclusion , brethren , I cherish an ambition , a conviction , and a purpose . My ambition ia to make the year before us at least cqoal lo all thafc havo preceded ifc , for efficient ,
harmonious , aud fruitful Masonic work . My conviction is , that should divisions arise among us , the same votes which placed me in the chair will sustain mo in it , provided that my ruling is for the Avisosfc ends , and in accord with our Constitutions . My purpose is , if possible , so to bear myself as your Master , at all times and in all things , that I shall when my term of office expires , lay down the symbol of my authority
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Cornubian Lodge, No. 450, Hayle.
AVor . Bro . the Rev . G . Kennedy rising said : I am pretty well accustomed to public speaking , as you know , and contrive , as a rule , to be at homo Avhen on my legs . But for once I feel that your excess of courtesy and kindness has almost taken from me tho power of adequately addressing yon . My position to-day is somewhat sincrnlar . I am , I believe , the first minister of our religions body
Avho has occupied a Masonio chair in the British dominions . I need make no apology to tho Church with Avhich T am associated , nor to society at large for occupying this position . I regard myself as being a kind of pioneer , and fool assured thafc when Masonry is better understood , tho unnatural and untrue distinction Avhich at present exists in some men ' s minds between it and religion will bo
swept away as something ont of place and decidedly in tho road of hnman progress . It wonld bo mere affectation to say I am not proud of the position . To bo Master of a Masonic Lodgo is an honour which any true-hearted man may covet . But to bo Master of such a Lodge as tho Cornnbian , one of tho foremost in tho AVest of England , is a distinction which falls to the lot of only a favoured few . Rest assured that I am not insensible of the honour which
you havo this day done me . I am no candidate for fancy degrees in Masonry , and am inclined to regard them as to somo extent rather violating the spirit of genuine brotherhood and equality ; bnt should it ever bo my fortune to possess the adornments of even the highest grades in our Order , I will never esteem them so highly as I do the Master's symbol which you have hung around mv nock .
I take tho chair of this Lodge under several very favourable circumstances . I cannot forget , dear brethren , the spontaneity of yonr action in electing me . I came among you a total stranger as it were , but yesterday , and yon havo accorded to me the highest honour it is in yonr power to give . I could not , of course , in honour , promote my own election , and you did not expect me to stoop to
unworthy cringing or canvassing to secure the Master ' s Office ; the brethren will bear me Avitness thafc neither by word or hint have I paved the way to my own exaltation . Another very happy circumstance is the unanimity of the vote whioh has placed me at your head . Unfortunately , sometimes there is a divided vote , which I have knoAVn to rend a Lodge in twain , and leave behind it legacies
of heart-burning and jealousy , which made harmony impracticable for years . I hold my place to-day without one adverse vote , a circumstance in which I heartily rejoice . I am happy also in the recollection of your financial condition . Yon are more than solvent , having nofc only paid all current expenses for the year , but reduced the outstanding debt upon our premises . To keep our finances in a
healthy condition ; to secure a continuance of perfect harmony in the Lodgo ; to maintain its honour unsullied and its usefulness undiminished , Avill bo the object of my constant care , dnring the year of my incumbency . I cannot forget that as Masons AVO aro associated with an institution possessing and exhibiting singular vitality . It reaches , we knoAV , far back into tho hoary past ; and is venerable
with age and antiquity . It comes to us , not with the flush of untried novelty , but with the adjuncts of history , experience , strength , and fruitfulness . Many institutions which sprang np side by side with Masonry havo been weighed in tho balance of hnman Avant , and , being found wanting , have been swept aside in tho progress of ages . They Avere not bound np , in any vital sense , with the life nnd
interests of humanity . Bnt Freemasonry , ivith its eye nndimmed , and its natural strength unabated , shows no sign of failing energy . On the contrary , ifc bids fair to live as long in the future as it has done in the past ; an evidence of the soundness of its constitution . It may not be generally known that some twelve hun-, dred Lodges have been chartered and consecrated within tho past
two and forty years . Now , I cannot but ask myself , to Avhat is this vitality and progress owing ? Certainly it is not to any ostentations parade on our part . AVe do nofc boast , although Ave might , that our Order has numbered kings and princes by the hundred , and dukes and nobles by the thousand . AVe are not for ever publishing the fact that , from tho middle and upper classes , we attract officers
by tens of thousands , and wo number faithful brethren all over the Avorld by millions . AVe do not engage in tho work of proselytising . Fret-masonry has no missionaries , no propaganda ; it wins men to it by its own inherent beauty rnd goodness—a fact which stimulates every Freemason to a life which shall illustrate and adorn his principles ; and covers every unworthy member of our Craft with
shame . It is only too true thafc for centuries many have joined tho Order to satisfy Avhat , I fear , was little better than an unworthy and prurient curiosity , and having done so , cease to bo numbered with us . Nor can we forget that numbers of men bring a reproach upon ns , by making Masonry synonomouswith idleness , intemperance , and excess . Still Masonry survives and flourishes . Time , which annihilates so
mauy things , spares it . AVhile other institutions labour to ho hoard for their much speaking , and make music like that of the cuckoo , always repeating its own name , Masonry , like tho lark behind a cloud , is content to sing unseen , so long as its voice gives greeting at the gate of heaven and falls with a gentle influence upon lonely hearts below . Brethren , Masonry owes its place and power to tho principles
upon which it rests . It has for its centre faith , truth , and honour ; it has for its circumference virtue , purity , and charity . Moro particularly , it owes its position and influence to the true view which it cherishes of our human aspirations . It is in strict harmony with the perreninl instincts of tho human heart . Look where wo will , humanity shows us one thing springing like hope within it eternally ,
the consciousness of , and tho desire for , immortality . That there is for man another life Avhen his present existence has run its course , Masonry proclaims with no uncertain voice . I regard this primary element in onr organisation , this tenacious hold on immortality , as one of its highest and most helpful functions . Take away the
conviction of an after-state , and you reduce man to the level of a soulless animal . Strike out of the common heart this conception , anil you destroy all intelligent and operative distinction between vice and virtue ' . Practically , yon abolish the very spring and reastn of moral rectitude in man . Freemasonry is a power just in proportion as it tells us that while we seem to stumble over other men ' s graves until
Cornubian Lodge, No. 450, Hayle.
at last we stumble into our own , above the emblems of mortality there is an immortal mansion , to which tho pure in heart will at last ascend , and in which the just will find their reward . I trust the day will never como when , as Masons , Ave shall bo ashamed of our loyalty to this great vital instinct of the human heart . Freemasonry ia powerful also , because it gives a true answer to tho deepest of all
human needs . Looking at society , both in its natural and artificial aspects , we discover one great need , that is God . Every kind of existence has something Avhich is essential to it . Find out that which condneos to its welfare , and yon discover what belongs to ifc . Ascertain Avhafc destroys or injures it , and yon may conclude that , whatever that may bo , it does not belong to it . Now , brethren , if I look
at society as a political economist , merely seeking to promote the greatest good of the greatest number ; or , if I regard it merely as an artist , having respect to its symmetry and stability , I see no hope for humanity either actual or possible apart from God . Yon can throw no hand around men strong enough to knit them together , save that which unites them to God . Herein Masonry is again strong .
It tells ns that men aro not poor voyagers over tho sea of lifo Avith no hand at tho helm of affairs , and no haven for Avhich to steer . It gives the assurance that our prayers are not idle Avails flung to the Avinds of heaven , bnt cries which evoke from tho heart of the Infinite a quick and sure response . And in these days when the battle is set in array between faith and no faith ; when , after ages of fencing , wo
havo to face tho naked issue—is there a God or is there not ? shall wo pray or shall AVO forbear ?—this institution stands out in direct conflict with Atheism . AVhon men missed those signs by which , from the beginning , tho Great Architect of tho Universe has announced his existence , and obliterate his handwriting upon tho inner walls of our universal consiousness , Masonry takes its stand upon the dread brink
of a universe denuded of God , and warns us back . Masonry does all its work beneath the sacred symbol , and its light would be quenched and the glory gone from its scutcheon did our Lodges cease to bo to us from that hallowed associatian , Holy ground . Further , Masonry retains its place and power because it owns the only true and rational conception of human lifo . It recognizes the level of equality whioh runs
through life ; the level from whioh wo all alike start . Below that level men may sink , and above it they may rise into rank and eminence . But , in essentials , Masonry contends for manhood , free and equal beneath the canopy of Heaven . Ifc teaches us to see in every man a copy of ourselves , and we see in the race one ' s-self only multiplied by millions . The man , no matter in what land he firsb drew
breath , or however mean his garb , who advances to a Mason tho claim of a common nature is assured beforehand of a prompt and brotherly respect . In looking at it , Masonry takes into account the accidents and inequalities of life . AVe find human beings trampled down by many waysides , and stricken down upon many battle-fields
with their lives overshadowed with sorrow and overburdened with misfortune . For theso , our Order has a voice that cheers aud a hand that helps , as witness our magnificent Schools for the orphan , standing side by side Avith charitable institutions for tho aged , the widowed , and tho poor . In addition to this , Masonry contemplates a coming unity when as Burns , himself a Mason , says , —
Man to man tho Avorld around , Shall brothers be , and a' that . As faithful Craftsmen wo play our part in bringing about this welcome consummation , but how ? Nofc by framing a world-wide political programme , or hurling Governments from power , nor by formulating a world-wide religious system . In order to blond tho race into
oneness , Masonry confronts tho Avorld with this for its motto everywhere , tho common Fatherhood of God above , and the common Brotherhood of Man below . It is because onr Order cherishes theso views of lifo that the world pays it reverence and concedes to it its place and power . There are two standing popular objections to Freemasonry . From time immemorial it has been objected to on tho
scoro of mystery , and of its symbolism . Upon these grounds , and specially tho first , superstition has decried our mystic art , and ecclesiastical stupidity has risen in Avrath to launch its thunders against us ; AA-hilo tho popular mind has judged us with suspicion and disfavour . Now , AVO frankly admit that our institution has its mysteries , Avhafc then ? Is Masonry alono in this respect ? Can AVO go anvAvhere
Avithout verging upon the region of mystery ? Is not our lifo hemmed in with ifc on every side ? Nature lias her mysteries , only told to those in harmony with herself . Knowledge has its mysteries , only yielded up to patient study . Science has its mysteries , jealously guarded from any bnt tho most rdveront inquirer . Why shonld not Freemasonry also havo its mysteries , kept under wise guardianship
from idle and prying eyes ? AVe keep our mysteries under seal only from him who exhibits neither tho will nor the worthiness to know them . AVe use them to inspire that teachability and respect for those who nro Avisor than onrselves , which it is tho purpose of all genuine education to impart . Again , Masoury in its symbolism is equally far from boing singular . Tho language of signs enters very freely into
human lifo . Royalty has its symbolism , with Avhich to impress tho common mind . Law haa its pageantry , and chivalry its endless devices . Scholarship proclaims itself in hood aud degree , and religion itself clings fondly to its symbols . Every corporation has its seal ; every city its coat of arms ; and every branch of industry its distinctive badge . Nay , the universe itself SIIOAVS ns but glorious
symbols of Him who piled it in beauty , strength , and wisdom . Our imputed love of what is fantastic and showy in attire is but an illustration to the public eye of what AVO may not communicate to tho uninitiated public ear . In conclusion , brethren , I cherish an ambition , a conviction , and a purpose . My ambition ia to make the year before us at least cqoal lo all thafc havo preceded ifc , for efficient ,
harmonious , aud fruitful Masonic work . My conviction is , that should divisions arise among us , the same votes which placed me in the chair will sustain mo in it , provided that my ruling is for the Avisosfc ends , and in accord with our Constitutions . My purpose is , if possible , so to bear myself as your Master , at all times and in all things , that I shall when my term of office expires , lay down the symbol of my authority