Weekly Trinity journal., 1867-05-04

$Hhu S'Sit duu TepIeSeUtdtlStSt Vi WHICH
see eTen now In this hall. I,need not tell yoE
that refer to the Masonic Fraternity. Not be-
ing one OF their number am unable to tell you
anything OF their organization or the principal
oplects for which they labor. But that their pur-
poses must be great and pure the very history oi
the Order proves to every rejecting mind. Sub
Jectto--persecntion, cruel and terrible ct times,
they Invariably conquered their prosecutors In
every century the power of kings and princes
was directed against the Masonic Order Their
Lodges were broken up, their meetings forbid
den, bat every lul in the storm showed the flag
q! Masonry still triumphantiy floating. the Order
wounded perhaps, but its vitality not in the least
impaired The greatest power on earth, the
Church of Rome, hurled its thunders and anath-
with hardly perceptible effect against that
wonderful organization. Nothing without the
merit Of being intrnsically noble and good could
have survived such assault, and the past history
Of that Order offers ample security for the future
For many wears it stood alone but in our
country rival has appeared which bids fair to
uutstrp il in the race for the welfare of man
kind. This rival, with all the charms of youth
yet possessing the powers of ripe manhood
adapted to the wants of the age in which we live
is our own beloved institution, the INDEPENDENT
ORDER OF OPP FELLows
| will not lay claim TO great antiqutv for
our Society not that which is oldest is always
best. What if the mould of ages does not cover
us? What if we can not show an unbroken
line Of noble ancestors? If our actions are pure
and our lives prove US TO be good and noble &c
can well relinqnish borrowed honori.
The Order of Odd Fellows existed many years
ngo in England, but l wish only to speal, OF mod
ern Odd Fellowship as taught by thnt noble
band of Brothers, five in number who on the
a6th of April, 1919, instituted Washington Lodge.
No. /, in the city of Baltimore Small as that
beginning was, to what wonderful proportions
has not our Order grown in the brief period of
forty-ejght years? The germ OF life was i'm
planted from the beginning. or II never could
have increased TO such power. Its purposes
must be good, its teachings pure It must be
one Of the best and noblest organizations that
ever existed, with views not otherwise than ben
%fcial to mankind. Some of its teachings will
endeavor to make You acquainted with some of
our laws will explain that YOU NAV Judge what
we labor and struggle for The foundation Of
our work, the first great principle which we
teach necessarily and untiringly, is the belief in
one God. the Supreme Ruler of the Universe
Atheism finds neither foothola nor favor in our
amidst. Without the belief in Il Supreme Being
not only openly expressed but subscribed to. no
one can gain admittance within our portals. Be
one ever so wise, ever so famed, if he cannot an
swer that question to satisfaction, he can
reror become an Odd Fellow. The very first
step in Odd Fellowship consists in making n SOL
VIM dllOH aOl lulS tNcT-llnQrl1Nt truth,
and at our initiation this doctrine is again urged
in an impressive lecture, which at the same time
indeliblv stamps upon the mind of the candidate
the second great trnth of morality and religion
the belief in future life. With the divisions of
mankind, sects and crecds. We have nothing to
do. The believer in the infallibilty of the
Church Of Rome the follower of Judaism. and
the disciples of Luther and Wesley are alike
hailed and welcomed as Brothers. 10 matter of
what M IiOnality creed onr feoci, fIatI
all men are children of one common Father, and |
as such we receive them. The curse inflicted up
on humanity, that enemy Of happiness and pro-
grcss.-religious intolerance.-is banshed for
ever from oar councils. We wage 4 war of cx-
termination against that hidcous monster.
Oh, the fell spirit OF intolerance who can
count lie victims? They are found crerwherc-
in the frigid North and the burning sands of
the South. No part Of the world has been ex-
empt from its witherng breath. and everywhere
its traces may be seen. Like g devastating cpl
.lemc, it marched from country to country
and oceans formed no obstacle in its
path, often retracing its steps. but always in
search OF new victims for sacrifice Onward it
sred, the shriehs and gToans of the dying
. sounding sweeier IL its ears than the music of
the spheres, its path Ii; by flaming cities and
villages, deseerated churches and tombs witness
es Of his fury. Oh the torrents Of blood which
'i"'S betu Shcu, tlG tears % sorrow ana anguish
forced from the eyes Of the widow and orphan,
the carnage and desolation occasioned by its
terrible mandates, What can atone for them
No pages in history darker with the stains of
blood than those which tell lis of prosecutions
under the guise of religion. 1t is continu-
ons battle, broken at intervals by short-ived !
peace, not of mercy, but of exhaustion. Who /
can read without shudder of the thirty years
,Ssr--a war of religion which made all Europe /
one great battlefield, of the terrors OF the /
Inauisition immuring its victims for life, or
more mercifully condcmning them 10 the nameS
OF the .Au.o ia FL.
Against fauaticsm and intolerance Odd Eel
lowship has entered the field with An army OF
700 900 brave and true men, all swayed by the
same impulses. al. .obeying one law-;hc law OF
universal Brotherhood. High let its banner
float, foleration emblazoned in golden letters up
on lis silken folds With weapons consecrated
TO FRIENDSHIP, LOVE and TRrTH, we have taken
ZIP the gauntlet ! The battle may bc long, the
conflict fierce, but must, we will conquer =
Had we other aim, were that the only princi-
pie of our Order, even then every heart filled
with sympathy for humanity every rejecting
mind which would take the past as guide for
the future, must hope for our success, while ev
cry member OF our great Fraternity can place his
hand upon his breast with honest pride and ex
ultinEly eXclaim--''i j too am IN O0O FELLOW
federation however, IS only that charity which
aecords honesty of conviction to all who differ
with us. Charity, however. in its broader sense,
the God-like attribute which gives without ey-
pecting anything in rcturn,-is the true charac-
teristic of Odd Fellowship. In the struggles in
cidcut to human life, men fax away from home
aud friends sometimes thrown upon the sick
bed, there to linger and suffer until death merci
fnly steps in TO close the eyes cf the weary wan
dercr. To the racking pain OF the body is ad-
ded the torture of the mind. Friendless, with
no one to provide for his comfort and necessities.
his sufferincs fearful indeed. beloved
wife, doomed perhaps to never see him again,
may await with anxious fears and aching heart,
;idings from her absent protector. Children,
too, are looking forward in innocent confidence
20 the return of the father who alas has I'm
gered so long. Such picture presents itself 10
the mind of the dying man, and that shudder
that sigh of pain and anguish, is not the effect
" the disease which prostrates him. His wife
widow, without protector his children or
nnans, with no one to show fathers care. and
tnrown perhaps upon the cold charities of the
~erfd-the agony of that reflection it is which
adds its overwhelming bitterness to his diving
hours
but bark footsteps approach, the door opens,
in tha;r