Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-06-25
Cumberland Presbyterian church, would
open the exercises with prayer.
THE PRAYER

open the exercises with prayer.
THE PRAYER.
The reverend brother offered up most
impressive prayer, in which he referred
to the occasion they were at present
commemorative, and earnestly craved
the Divine blessing on all present, and
also the blessing Of God on the time
hOnored principles Of the order OF Ma
sonry. He also asked that Gods bess-
ing might rest upon their distinguished
brother who had come to speak words
OF comfort from The far-Off north.
REMARKS OF HON. CASEY YOUNG.
Hon. Casey Young then came forward
and, addressing the very large audience
and the members Of the Masonic order
present, said that he had been selected
by the brotherhood to introduce to them
the gentleman who was about to address
them, q gentleman who was one of the
most distinguished Of American citizens,
and at the same time one Of the most
gifted and accomplished of American
orators, He had now the pleasure of in
Producing TO them Hon. Nathaniel P.
Banks. Of Massachusetts. Great APP
plsuse
Address BY HON. N. P. BANKS, OF
MASSACHUSETTS.
Hon. Mr.. Banks, on arising, was
greeted with round after round of ap-
plause, and waving of handkerchiefs by
the hundreds Of ladies present. After
quietness was restored the eloquent gen.
tleman said:
Mr.. Chairman, Brethren of the Masonic Order
and Ladies and Gentlemen:
1t must be evident to all the people of
this great country that we are living in
an age at present which is characterized
by varied and most important results;
and it seems that in every part OF the
world the people of all other coun-
tries are excited in the same manner
that the people Of this country are ex-
cited at the present moment. Such q
state OF matters causes US to look into
the past and study the events which
transpired before our own time. II is
only few years ago since the English
| speaking people throughout the world
celebrated the tri-centenary OF the birth
Of Shakespeare, and it is only q short
time since the Italians celebrated the
anniversary of Dante, their greatest OF
poets and the author of the Divine Com
edia. A brief period since the Germans
celebrated the centennial of their favor.
tie poet, Schiller, and only short time
before they celebrated the centennial of
one who was even a greater poet than
Schiller, Goethe. 1t is only a brief
space of time since the Portuguese ceIe-
brated the centennial birth of Conn
monis, the author of the Dunciad;
! France, the centennial of the great Ma
poleon; while in a short time the Irish
will celebrate the centennial OF the
! great HberatOr and orator, Daniel O'COn-
| nell. A short time since Iceland, going
further back than all of them, celebrated
her One-thOusandth year since she be-
csme nation. And everyone present
knows that next year we will celebrate
! the first centennial of the establishment
of our own Republic. Such wonderful
events in history show US that the
world moves. The progress bas been re-
mark able, and in the period men have
arisen great in craftsmanship, great in
| literature and great in the arts and
| sciences. There is something in all this,
as it is only by the recollection of great
men and their works that such periods
are brought plainly before US in history.
! The evidence is thus made strong, and
nowadays when we speak OF
| good man, one is apt to think that the
| half of hisetime ana money have been
given up to the building of churches or
| some such good work. We will now see
what connection the exercises Of to-day
! have with the wonderful events to which
have just alluded. Many persons, in
| fact q very large number of persons, be-
lieve that Masonry existed since the be-
ginning of the world, and to-day We are
| commemorative the anniversary Of their
patron saint,
JOHN THE BAPTIST.
He could not say how many centen-
malls had passed since the Masonic Or
der commenced to celebrate the ami.
versary OF their "pstron slint.n
He was the forerunner OF our
Savior, and spread the tidings Of the
coming of the Savior throughout the
world. Whether we are members Of the
Masonic order or not, it is known that
the people were simply divided up into
tribes, and as they increased in numbers
they formed themselves into states, and
became subject to government and the
army, while their religion was in the
hands of the fathers and the priests.
This state Of things continued for many
hundred years. The government took
charge of their petitions and the priests |
gave attention to their religion, but |
no attention was paid to the |
priests affairs or the common interests |
Of the people. Now l don't wish to IN. |
ASi1atC Jul OWL bhI WOulu
rather sustain the honor of my country |
in the greatest degree. But there are |
come things that require to be altered, |
which have reference to the common |
affairs of life. There is a manifest necesI |
sity that this ought to be done, and in |
order to do this we must have some rep |
resentative generally acknowledged |
power. This leads me to the considera- |
ton of the origin and
OBJECTS OF MASONRY.
A great many cry out that Ma |
sorry was founded On the occult |
rites and mysteries of ancient
times, and think mysteries still |
exist in the order, and have done so
since the beginning. The Masonic order
believe in unity and harmony, and that
the people of the world should dwell in
unity and peace with each other, and |
which l consider shall one day be a
manifest fact. The Masonic order never
interferes with the government or the
church, but simply attend to their own
interests. If this was considered neces-
sary in the oldeE time, then it is not so
necessary that the order should at the
present consider it its daty to protect the
interests OF the men who worked in iron
or steel, and were the labOrers and
Vi TIC GOuulINy WIFI we
have 90 many other institutions engaged
in this work, when John the Baptist
was selected as the
PATRON SAINT OF THE ORDER
it was not with any intention to inter-
fere with the church or the government,
but simply with the view to direct men
to their own affairs in human life. Ire.
fer to the farmer, the mason, the brick
layer, the workers in metals and those
engaged in trade. These were the men
whose interests the order proposed to
protect, and the record shows
what our success in this respect
has been. Discoveries have been
made by these men whose interest they
Underworld to protect, and a field OPEN
ed up, which but for their genius would
have been lost to mankind. These men
were not often their own masters, but
such was their skill in the arts, sciences,
and paintings, that they speedily be-
came their own masters. To one of |
these men were we indebted to the in
vention of what ultimately led to the
discovery OF the telegraph, and they
have given in this country the grandest
assistance Of what might call the au-
Inhalation OF time and space. They
have now become their own masters
and StilI oOntiDUn tn do tDa !