THE FAITH OF FREEMASONRY.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1518, 16 June 1873, Page 4

THE FAITH OF FREEMASONRY.

The Freemasons of Ballarat have erected a new Masonic Hall in that city, and during the ceremony of consecrating the building, the Eev G. W. Watson delivered an address, of which the following is an abridgment from the Ballarat Star : — " If I understand the principles of the craft aright, its prosperity does not consist so much in the acquisition of numbers as in the good that it does, and the benefit that it confers in working out and calling into practice the principles of the Order. ; For it is designed to make men better as men, and fit them to discharge the duties of life — domestic, . social, and civil. And there is good reason not only to hope, but also to expect this. For Freemasonry rests upon the eternal and therefore unchangeable truth of the Being of God. It inculcates upon all the service that is due to Him ; that as His creatures we are to stand in awe of Him, and. sin not ; that we are to implore His aid. upon all " our lawful undertakings," that we are to " look to him in every emergency of life for comfort and support," indeed, that we are in our lives to make it our prominent aim to " display the beauties of true godliness to -the honor and glory of His holy name." And can we have anythimg more enduring and more ennobling than this truth ? This, I conceive, is the great glory of Freemasonry. Indeed, no higher glory can attach to any human institution. If it is only given its proper place, and is allowed to exercise that, influence up:>n the craft that so great a truth should, indeed is recognised and acknowledged in the life, it requires no prephet to foresee the high, dignified, and permanent position that it will occupy. And is not the secret of its past successes and permanence ? If, as we believe, that this brotherhood has existed from time immemorial, and has passed through generation after generation without any material change, there must be a cause. "We know that many institutions have changed, many have passed away ; but this has remained unchanged. And the reason we hold to be the recognition of the truth— the Eternal Pillar — that from everlasting to everlasting God ,is (and the practice of those duties that flow from this). And in keeping with this is the attention that is paid to the "Volume of the Sacred Law." It is the first and principal light of Masonry by which all are exhorted to frame their lives — giving heed to it as that all comprehensive Word, which includes our duty to God, to our neighbors, and to ourselves. And if this "unerring standard " be obeyed, we know full well what manner of men we shall be in the service of our Heavenly Master, and in our conversation in, the world. But though Masonry thus recognises the Great Creator and the Volume of the Sacred Law, it is not put in the place of, nor is it designed to be a substitute, for religion. It rests, indeed, as we remarked, upon that truth which is essential to the happiness of man; as an intelligent and immortal creature. But it requires nothing more. Very wisely it omits all matters of controversy in religion, yet leaves every man when outside tha lodge free to worship God as he wills, allowing the fullest liberty excepting that no man is permitted to deny the existence of the Great First Cause." i

Hbw to keep a thing a profound secret. — Advertise in the New Zealand Governmant Gazette. Dr'G. Robinson, a British electrician^ has patented a new .method of sawing timber. It consists in applying a platinum wire heated to redness or whiteness by an electric current to the trees or woods which are to be severed, much in the same manner as it has hitherto been employed -on a smaller scale in surgery. By fitting the wire with handles, so aa to be able to guide* it any direction, the moßt' intricate fretwork can be cut. i