Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-05-01

Thousand members, as the scene Of the
commemoration of sn event which mark
ed the Inauguration Of an Order for the
efficient utilization of the principles q
Friendship, Love and Truth, the peer OF
any known in ancient or modern times;
and destined, it is hoped and con6den-
TALLY believed, to spread as far as human
civilization extends, and to last as long
as the distresses of the bereaved and
sick, and the needs Of the orphaned and
lonely shall claim the sympathy, the as
Sistance, and the fostering care Of their
fellow creatures. ts
In all that you have said Of Pennsyl>
vania Odd Fellowship, its members, its
financial resources, its power, the bene>
ficent use to which it has applied them,
and the powerful influence for good
which it yields, you have not exceeded
the limits of literal truth or ia the least
exaggerated. On the soil which Penn
honestly and kindly treated for, but did
not wrest with the bloody hand from its
aboriginal owners, it was meet that an
Order whose bond is the brotherhood
of man, and whose covenant, one with
another, and with society, is the per-
Torrance of the offices of friendship and
the cultivation of an enlarged philan>
thropy, should flourish. 1t has done so;
and it affords the legislative Head Of that
Order pleasure to recognize the fact; and,
sir, | am honored in being the organ Of
its expression, and il conveying to you
again for the Right Worthy Grand Lodge
of the United States, and for those press
ent from other Jurisdictions, and from
the fraternity throughout the world,
their cordial thanks for this reception.
For the allusion which you have been
| pleased to make to me as the official
chief of the fraternity, tender my sin
cere acknowledgements, and will only add
that, while feel, officially and indiyid-
ually, that ut is good to be here" and
mingle with those older and ADLER than
myself in this grand ceremonial of com-
memoration, feel also that all official
distinction is dwarfed in contrast with
the memory of him whose work, fifty
years ago to-day, we have met to celer
brate, Thomas Wildey, Of Maryland; and
in contemplation Of the vast benevolent
objects for which we are associated, that
all true Odd Fellows, of whatever rank
or degree, are the equals of each other.
Standing here, in an official capacity,
cannot desist without the utterance of a
thought that occurs, and the delivery Of
single word of exhortation; for this is
time and scene to awaken a full sense
of ones responsibilities.
The cycle of fifty years since our
foundation in America is complete. The
patriarchs who labored then, who first
bore our symbols, who delivered our
charges, who inculcated the lofty truths
We profess and endeavor to practice, have
gone to their rest. What they inaugu>
rated the orator of the day will depict
in its progress and in its beauty.
With that time, in our history as an
Order, and in the history Of this CONT
nent, marvellous changes have been
wrought apd wonderful development has
been made. From the handful that
gathered at the call of Wildey we have
increased until near half a million are
enlisted under the banner then set up.
Other continents and the islands Of the
sea own our fraternity and acknowledge
our laws and principles as their guide.
But amid all the mutations of that pc
Rod, whether they contributed to the
advancement Of civilization, education
and morals, and to the improvement OF
the race in its higher attributes, or seemed
to retard them-amid all fluctuations and
exterior commissions, Odd Fellowship has
preserved its unity as an organization,
,,k1 Of
single purpose. From its high duties and
behests it has known no yariAbleness
nor the shadow Of turning" Consecra-
ted to the cause Of humanity, to the bind |
ing up of its weaker parts, to the sustens |
ance and succor ofthOse stricken by proVi>
Dental calamities, to the widow in her
grief and need, and the orphan in its help
lessness, it has, with inviolable fidelity,
10 formed its lofty task.
The schisms and dissensions which
have occurred about it have not SCARED
or scanned its massive and well cemen-
ted proportions, and the roar Of discord
has never penetrated its halls or moved
it from the even and majestic tenor OF |
It's way. These evils, in the midst OF |
danger, have been avoided by infiexible'
adherence to the grand truths Of the
Order; and SO would |, and for all whom
| speak, have it to be in the future; and
/ would earnestly entreat this large con-
course of the brotherhood, representing
every section, to lay we'll the ground for
a prosperity in the coming fifty years
upon the principles which have secured it
in the past. This is an inviting theme,
and mi ht well be enlarged on; but !
will not dwell. Commenting all who
hear me to the work, and that they
should yield profound gratitude to the
Almighty Disposer of events for His
hitherto signal approval of our labOrs, l
close by again thanking you, sir, and the
Order in Philadelphia, in the name Of
the Right Worthy Grand Lodge Of the
United States, for your cordial welcome.
In the order of proceedings instituted
for the day, another and veteran in the
service, one whose name is familiar
wherever the Order is known, is as
signed to pronounce an address suitable
to the occasion. He will do it well and
Worthily, and | will not consume longer
your time nor transgress against your
patience.
take great pleasure in introducing TO
the audience James L. Ridgely, P. G.
Master of Maryland, and Secretary of
the Right Worthy Grand Lodge of the
United States, who has been designated
as the orator of the day.
Notwithstanding the grand meeting at
Horticultural Hall and the Hall at the
Rink, there was q splendid house last
evening at the Academy to participate in
the closing exercises, which were opened
by the singing of the following InVoca-
ton, which was written expressly for
the occasion by P. G. j. Martin McFar-
land, of Washington, D. c.
After a prayer by the Worthy Grand
| Chaplain, Rev. Daniel Washburn, P. G.
M. William E. Ford, of Boston, Mass,
made an address in behalf of the juris-
dictions of the Northern States.
This address was followed by the du-
OFT, 81 PiscatOri," by Messrs j. Great
and A. X Taylor, which received an
| encore g -.
20. r preventative Thomas I. Smiley,
of Tennessee, then delivered an address
on the Southern Jurisdictions" in which
he spoke of the grand results achieved
| by the Order since its inception in the
Southern States, and adverted to it's
present prosperous condition in that Sec