American Republican and Baltimore daily clipper. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1844-1846, 1846-09-21
OR A ITO N
pIVERED BY THE REV. JAS. D. McCABE
AT THE
DID BELLOWS CELEBRATION,
pHILADELpHIA.

u before us,--the orders and devices OF a
e heraldry are displayed. But these BAN
are not such as are ''lanned by conquesl's
nson wings" these orders and devices are
such as glitter ia the courts of Kings, and
worn by titled arstocraCy, as badges of
ial state, distinguishing the noble from the
breditary bondsman," On the pure field Of
}, is inscribed lessons of PEACE, of TRUTH,
Love; the others are the expressive sym
s Of a holy and expansive charity. Wherever
one has been unfuIed wherever the 9TH
haze shone, they have marked the end of
fe, and proclaimed the presence of genius
benevolence and mercy.
But why are they now displayed? What
Fan those glittering fles-this festive scenei
it an outburst Of Joy from the heavng heart
great people, celebrating political tri-
#hph? Or is it that you may echo back the
laling shout of victory that comes up from
me distant battle field, mingled with the
rieks of the vanquished and the groans Of the
ing, where the laurel has been stained with
e Widows tear, and the pecan ofthe conquer
with the forlorn cry Of the orphan and the
fetched? No 1t is none ofthcse things. II
that you may throw around the temple you
i've erected in this beautiful city, the sancti-
Of a public conservation, that it may pass
bwn TO posterity TO perpetuate the triumphs,
BIT won by "brute IoTce''- victories, obtained
is true, amid tears and groans-but they
ere tears you have wiped away--miseries you
s hve allcvIated and removed! | bring you the
congratulations of THE OLD DoMVNIoN, and the
aternal assurance that she joys in your JOY
nd triumphs in your triumph.
4 The poetry of our nature, excited by an &C.
asion like the present, would lead Us to in
Mulge in the visions ofmoral beauty which arise;
md as we look back upon the past and antci-
ate the future, we are reminded that our duty
with the present.
You have erected noble Hall in the midst
"a poPu ous city; and public attention is at
his moment more Immediately attracted to-
: yards the Order of Odd Fellows than at any
ormer period Of your associate existence; and
appreciation and esteem are the product Of
knowledge and association, SO on the other
band, men are disposed to behold with indiffer-
zence, and oftentimes distrust and prejudice,
I hose plans and schemes of good which seem to
Epursue an exclusive action, and from sympathy
with whose concerns the great mass Of society
4 Seem to be shut out, by well defined and al
most impossible line OF separation. 1t is cer-
/ tainIy our duty, as far as practicable, TO re.
move the very serious distractions these views
Explanations to society at large, and they have
an undoubted right to demand these explaha-
tons from US. An institution has arisen ia the
land, it has disseminated its principles and its
practices through every grade of society, until
in almost every city, town, village and hamlet
of our country it's associations are held and It's
fraternal ties acknowledged
In nation like ours, where the authority OF
the government is derived from the consent OF
the governed, and the aggregate of individual
virtue forms the basis OF social happiness-all
are deeply interested in every organization
formed-and every principle which is agtated
amongst them-because, ultimately they may
have good or evil bearing upon themselves,
and through them upon the future destiny OF
society. So far from REFRESHING the spirit OF
public curiosity, il is duty growing from our
common allegiance to our country and our or
der, to encourage that spirit, and to crafty its
laudable demands with cline upon line, pre-
cept upon precept," Of explanation and exposi-
ton; in SO far as we DO this, we minister that
external VIGILANCE" which is the price, not
only of civiE, but also of moral and Religious
freedom!
The present occasion it seems to me is pecu-
culiarly appropriate 10 4 course Of remark OF
this character. The inquiry Is even now agi-
tatng the public mind to some extent: "To
what purpose is this temple Of Odd Fellowship
TO be appropriated? Will it be the scene of the
secret orgies of wild RIGHTEOUSNESS, where,
shut out from the public eye, the best and no.
lest hopes of man will be undermined by the
slow but sure attrition Of a speciouS infdelity,
substituting for the sublime mysteries of the
Gath once delivered to the Saints,n the ira
ditions of corrupt and lallbe man? Or will its
chambers be the council halls of ira itors TO So
cial order, conspring against the civil and po-
litcal institutions Of the country? Such ] say
is the complexion of the thoughts now agitat-
ing TO some extent the public mind. 1t is
therefore opposite to advert briefly to the char
acter, tendencies, and future influences of our
order, and by showing what it is, and what it
is capacitated to accomplish, meet and answ er
the spirit of inquiry which makes the demand,
at the same time ''str up our own minds by
way of remembrance"
In conducting my brief inquiry into the char
acter Of Odd Fellowship, shall not stop to ar
que abstract speculations respecting its origin;
whether it arose among the iron legions of Ii
tus, in imitation of Jewish Societes-Was born
and nurtured on the shores of Britain-or re-
ceived its perfect body and form from the
strong minds and plastic hands of our Ameri-
can fathers. take it as it takes human socie-
ty--not formed of poetic images, breathed up
on and beautifed by the genius of Imagination
but as it exists, with all its features standing
out in the reality of palpable being, as dis
tinct in its outlines, and as clearly grouped in
its moral and physical architecture, as the beau
tiful Temple it now consecrates, and from which
its benign influences will radate as the centre
of its action here
The foundation of the superstructure is the
acknowledgment of universal fraternity
man is bound to sympathize wth-to aid and
protect his brother man; upon this foundation
is erected system of active practical benevo-
lence, which sends throughout society the in
huence OF its beneVolence, and that this may
not degenerate into an indiscriminate and Ii
ceniious aims giving, which converts the earn
inGs of honest industry inlo a reward for nan-