Freemasonry's Fruitage.

He believed in God , his accountability , and faithfully performed his duty to his fellow men . This was the lesson taught him in the Lodge . And his testimony of Masonry was written so early as January 1793 . I copy but two sentences of his letter . He says ; " The grand

object of Masonry is to promote the happiness of the human race . " " The principles are founded in tho immortal laws of truth and justice . " What a volume is contained in

them ! Let me re-read them : " The grand object of Masoui'y is to promote the happiness of the human race . " " Tbe principles are founded in the immortal laws of truth and justice . "

POWEE or INFLUENCE FO » GOOD . I come now to the question that more nearly concerns each of you . Know you the power for good , the possibilities for improving , refining and civilising , that each Masonio brother possesses ? In the state of Louisiana there are four thousand five

hundred Masons . They are related to the family , to the home , to the society in which they live . Each possesses influences for good that can be as lasting as the everlasting hills . Four thousand five hundred teachers , teaching , proclaiming : " Let there be light . "

In the United States there are seven hundred thousand Masons . They all believe in God , teach immortality , accountability , and the brotherhood of man . They have been taught to hate no man on account of his religions belief . The Mason is taught that religion is a divine

attribute , and that the most untutored nation has some conception of God and dnty to his neighbour . Out of the East have come the great religions of the world . And when examined without prejudice they impress tho mind with one important truth—that man is pre-eminently a

religious being . In all the long centuries , from Confucius to Mohammed , the supreme question of his mind has been a determined effort to find a satisfying religion . As the twentieth century dawns upon the world , it finds that art , science , in the civilised portions of the globe , have made

great modifications in religious beliefs . The modifications of thought on supposed opinions as to the age of the earth , its shape , its relation to the solar system , its motions and revolutions , have been as complete as the earlier beliefs in

what inspiration taught , concerning these subjects , were false . It is not improbable that very soon another war , now raging , will subside , and evolution find its place among the admitted truths of science . But in all this march of

science , religion with less of dogmatism , and purer and grander by reason of its clearer insight into nature , marches in the van , carrying the destiny of millions who seek after truth . Progress is the law of the universe . As we grow wise we look down on the little wonders that amazed

our ignorance . We begin to learn that man is incomparably the grandest building in the universe , the mansiou in which the immortal spirit dwells ; that by birthright . he is a child of a glorious household , whose boundaries are infinite and the law of whose government is love .

Endowed with all these qualities and capabilities , he is made conscious that insphered in his frame are all the problems of the skies . His mission is to do good , to lift up his brother man . He who joins in the work should ever bear in mind that

gone before him are a long line of heroes , who honoured the Institution by devotion -to duty ; that what is taught in the Lodge has been tested by the wisdom of centuries , and thus every tenet has stood the test of severest scrutiny , and is to-day as fresh and potent for good as when

symbolised three thousand years ago . If asked what does Masonry teach , the answer is easy , and can be told without circumlocution . A belief in God , immortality and accountability ; that the Holy Bible is the inestimable gift of God to man as a rule and guide of his faith ; it teaches the practice of

brotherly love , of granting relief ; it encourages learning , the study of the sciences , geometry and the fine arts ; that truth is a divine attribute and the foundation of every virtue ; it command * the observance of the moral law , and of the golden rule , to do unto others as you would that others should do to you .

Belief in the above makes man a Mason m heart ; the observance of these teachings , and he is a good citizen , a good neighbour , a good husband , a good father . Such a

man believes in the parity and sancity of home , of tbe family ; is the defender of virtne , and labours to promote peace , prosperity and happiness among men . These are the tenets of Masonry , and he who derides them derides

Freemasonry's Fruitage.

the teachings of the Bible , is worso than infidel , and is not a friend of humanity . The moral influence that permeates the Lodge , society and home of the Mason bears abundant fruit . Society is made better b y its teachings ; homes grow more sacred :

prejudices disappear ; seotarian walls of bitter hate , built mountain high , aro dissolved or dissolving ; benevolence , charity , fellowshi p , are substituted for inhumanity , indifference and enmity . Noiselessly the great work goes on . The reign of law ,

the sweet influences of peace , triumph over wrong , the standard of morality is elevated , human thought is broadened aud deepened ; the man is brought immediately into rapport with noble and inspiring ideas ; these ideas permeate the Fraternit y , the home , society , and lead to

purer and to higher aims . It brings individuals closer together , teaches trust , self-reliance and self-assertion ; it uproots evil , wrong , selfishness , hate , aud substitutes for these passions , love , compassion , benevolence , charity , forbearance . These moral forces extend from the Lodge to tho family , to society , to the human race .

The great thing in human motives which gives to human efforts the dew of the morning and the hallowed power of the evening , which elevates aud perpetuates their memory , is their disinterestedness . When Cicero would praise a The great thing in human motives which gives to human efforts the dew of the morning and the hallowed power of the evening , which elevates aud perpetuates their memory , is their disinterestedness . When Cicero would praise a

fellow man with hi gh encomium , he said of him : " He has pluu ' . u . a tree of one berry of w' - ' ch he will never partake . " The meaning , the underl ying thought of Cicero was , that whatever is douo for the future has the attribute of this

ennobling feeling . And so we dedicate , not alone with the forms and cere , monies of our Order but with its disinterested spirit and

purpose , this building to the future—to those who in all coming time shall , with hearts beating as do ours to-day , with the solemn and sacred aspirations and principles of the Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Louisiana .

As we go forward in the path of duty , let us not forget how much we owe to the ages agone for the treasures it has garnered up for us , all of which may bo ours if wo but will it . In the language of the poet : —

Bid India from her Sanscrit speak 5 let all The Vedas wide unroll their parchment gates . Gather the wisdom of the Pyramids , Tho secret * that Egyptian Hierophants Praotised in orypfca and caverns , which they veiled In many a rite and symbol—none fortrot . * * * # # Gather the ripe frnit of all sciences Until thj plenteous board gleams rich and rare With olnstered branohes of Hesperian gold . Lot every heart stand in its perfeob form And preach the gospel of invention to

The eager intellect . ' More light ! More light !' Be this tby motto ; yoke tbe patient years To plough the fallow fields of history For buried treasures , gems and precions coins ,

And marbles , thnfc shall come from out tho dust To tell how bountiful Antiquity Sat on her ivory throne ; how looked , how Bpake The hero-ages of departed time . " —Voice of Masonry

Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We do not hold ovrraelvoa responsible for tho opinions of our Correspondents . All Letters must bear the nama and address of tho Writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith .. We cannot undertake to return rejected communications .

TAUGHT TO BE CAUTIOUS

To the Editor 0 / tfie FUEEIUSON ' CHHONICM ? . DEAR SIB AND BKOTHEK , —While personally of opinion that the production of a certificate ought not to be an indispensable preliminary to the admission of a visitor who can properly prove himself , yot I should like to hear in yoar columns from the brother

whether he considers the Lodge would have been acting legally in admitting him . As an old Preceptor he can doubtless tell ns what the authorities consider to be the true reading of Art . 150 , and especially of the " or " in lii <• 4 ?

Was thero not a circular sent out a few years back from Grand Lodge warning L- dges against admitting any strange brother , however perfect he might appear to be , nntil he had produced his G . L . certificate ? Yonrs fraternally , lax S OBIPTA .