The Arkansas banner., 1849-07-31
MASONIC ADDRESS;
DelfeeTsd kzsve |" WEsrERS SrAe LoDGE No 2'' q
 L4itis Roek JsAaaSy 2sth, lsI9.
BY E. II. ENGLISH.

Brnaiyez qnd PrirsGs.-rhe Hon. CHRlsrorHEn C. Scorr the eminent advocate of Masonry, selected as the orator Of the day. having failed to arrive, the committee of arrangements have commanded me, in the language of tho ceebrased Bartlett, to ssak fs tke ease;' and as the humble proxy of that dis tinguisled orator and Mason, come forward to take upon myselfth burden of the OeeasiOn-apolO- giziag so the audience for the disappointment.
 It has been the fate oF millions of ths drama of fife, pas thrUug its shifting scenes, and sink iatO the grave, withoat leaving monu- mcnt behind them to breathe their names or deeds iatO the ear OfPosterty; shadows, wilh the rising sun, they eams-fs mere shadows they Panued;" and ike shadows, when the sun goes down, they mingled in . common night. But there have beeH men, in every age, endowed with uncommon mental and moral powers, who have lowered above the level of the masses-Iike Alps above the sea-and inscribed, upon the great RECORD BOOK or TINE, actions and achievements which will be read with admiration by themOst distant child in Adams line. Meu of the greatest inseIects, however, have too Olen POss1~sd waiting ambition, which has caused them to rear their monuments upon tie ruins of Empires, and write their histories in tho blood of nations. IL is not such, therefore, but rather men distinguished for great moral ac,ions-en who have blessed, rather than scorged ear race-whose memo ries are most reversd by MAsoas. Of this latter class of men was ST. JoHx THE BArrisr, whose virtues arc held in perpetual remembrance by eur Order.
 ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST was an eminent patron of masonry; and through admiration of his character, distinguished in many respects, Christian Masons, for centuries past. have dedicated their lodges to him. land St. John the EvaDgeiist,) and the Obser vance of an annual festival, upon the day of his nativity, is time -hOsorcd custom amongst us.
 He was commissioned by heaven, and sent to earth, the harbinger of that sublime era-the era of mans redemPton-,O which the harp of prophecy or four thousand years had been attuned by sacred bards and seers to peal in celestial strains and his birth waz heralded by chief of the angelic thrOug But, apart from any belief in his divine mission, as man of the most stern and unbending virtue; as the great orator of the wilderness, whom admiring mutitudes followed to the banks of the Jordan and hung upon hts voice with wonder, awe and obedi- ence-befOre whose ausere glance rice stood abash- ed, and the TOtaries of decayed system fled their waning aitars; a moral reformer, who stood up and confronted the violent opposition of ignorance and superstition, not as reed shaken by every wind, but as a great rock, unm0ved amidst the turbulent pillows of ocean; as man of fortituds, who yielded up his life rather compromise his prin ciPles, or suaer vice, even In king, to 70 unre- buked-he commands the admiration of the nor aliSt, the philosopher, and the Macon.
 Rot genius of Masonry the nature and objects of the institution; the principles which it nculcates; the good it eonfers upon its faithful yotaries and the evils which it remedies.
 Living in world of physical and moral evis-in
 stais of mutual dependence, subject to a thousand wants and Woes-it is the natural and necessary dis position of men to associate themselves into or ganizsd bodies. Hence. in every aged and cline, men have entered into social eompacts for political religious, moral and mechanical purposes. The pastoral life may 6l the Less ideal of tn poet and the dreamer, and appears beautiful in soGg, when dressed in the glowing coiors of imagination; but sober experience hath well sttested that man was never designed to roam the nncaliivaied earth as mere keeper of sAeeT' The forest oak may spread it's protecting shade of summers day over the signing swain, he breathes his tale of love iEto the listening ear of some simPi-hearted rural maid but when hosry winter il furnishes no shelter from the chilling blast, and the reluctant earth yields no bread to her sons, unless it be drawn from her bosom by the implements of industry.
 Mea must, therefore. of necessity congregaie under various organizations, and by union of labor and intellect provide for their wants protee, them selves against evils and advance in all the arts of civilization needful to their comfort and happiness
 MAsoSRr-frst instituted mainly for mechanical. but now existing for moral, Purposes-s one of the oldest organizations upon earth. The foundation stones of her beautiful temple were laid by that master builder the wise King of Israeli and though some forty centuries have dsfted by, and the ptoud- est structures of human genius have crumbled be- heath the desOlating foot of Vandalism, yet this magnificent old fane stands in all its glory, without broken column, lifting its lofty dome into the san hghi of Heavea. and basking in the approving smiles of that Providence which has preserved il as sacred sanctuary for the chosen of earth. And though the sea Of time may roii on, and wave after wave mSS beat against it's foundation rock, aud wreck alter wreck of ruined systems may drift upoa the rapid tide, yet proudly above the awful whir, the Masonic ecihce ia destined to stand until the ,ha h. ders of the lsat day snail uRrib the earth and .r down all human fabrics.
 MAsosEr is an institution of practical virtues, hsshi by pleasing ceremonies, and impressed upon the mind by beautiful and a2propriat. emblsnls: au iO the fact that il is ins,at of practical virtues aad not of mere abstract speculative faith t owc. the preservation Oi its unity for many een,nres About matters of faith which lie far beyond the v'saal ksa-which aPpertain to another and aa un- saea wefld-men arc prOes 10 speculate and eoDlee- 'sne and must necessarily differ; and this division ei opinion becoming animated, as tt always dors leads first ts dispat~tOn. thea 10 strife, and finally to separation. Hsnce the cause of the numerous and distinct organizations of religious bodies. Men readliy agree upon cardinal yIrlues Lut arc nrote