ODD-FELLOWSHIP.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 278, 19 June 1860, Page 4

ODD-FELLOWSHIP.

It is the largest society of the kind in the .world, it has now. become one of the public Institutions of Britain; Snd finds a welcome whereverjthe English language is spoken. It embraces within its fraternal bosom persons of every creed and^ nation; and dispenses blessings in every community in which It is located!* ; ~ In this province it hss been the means, under Providence, ox doing a large amount of good. _ In England there are many Provident Institutions, Asylums for the blind, Hospitals for the sick, provision made for the poor and needy: but here it is far different. Being a new country, none of these Institutions are yet established, and Odd Fellowship has had to supply the place of them all. If it had not been for Odd-Fellowship, many cases of distress would have met the public eye; the Government would have been put to considerable expense in relieving the wants of the sick_and destitute, and in the burial of the dead. Last year alone, £485 were expended in relieving the sick, payment of Doctors'fees, and funeral donations ; and since'the establishment of the Order in Wellington not less than JISOO have been advanced for these purposes. . > . .. The relief given is not considered in the light of a charitable'donation', but as the "result of a member's prudence and forethought, and. therefore does not degrade its recipients. ; Some may say that it is an exclusive.' society, but he contended that it wasjiot so y the"whole community may join it if they please, and participate in its benefits;. He would advise all who were present, and who were not already Odd Fellows, to join the Order at once. He felt,convinced that by so doing they would become better husbands, better fathers, and better members of society. (Applause.) If they did not require the assistance themselves, they would have the satisfaction of knowing, that they were an assisting an Institution that was conferring benefits upon the community. .■>/■'■ . He could mention many instances of the benefits that persons received by being Members of the Order. He had known when brothers had been for years on the sick fund with that insiduous disease—consumption, who received their weekly pay, and the attendance of the surgeon; and when their earthly career closed, were then decently interred, and followed to the grave by their sorrowing brethren. Nor were his widow "or, orphans neglected after his departure, but were amply provided for. . .-;■■•

He remembered a circumstance when a brother bereft of reason, was incarcerated in the old Wellington Gaol, in.a cell six feet by. eight, with two other unfortunate lunatics. He would not; describe their pitiable condition, when in. their paroxysms of rage they used to rend each other;— their fearful bowlings,—he would leave that to their own imaginationto conjure up. '<■■ Qa it being known that a brother was in. this deplorable state,, every means were taken to alleviate his condition; by supplying him with clothing, blankets, medical comforts, &c, and when it pleased God to take him away, he was bureed in a decent manner, all the brethren in Wellington following him to the grave;; .'/■ ;: v ' ;;- ,-.- '■ ~ ,-,. :, ,| How different this is to another scene, that oacurred .here. Another unfortunate lunatic died, and was dragged to the grave by the prisoners in a cart, and thus the image of God was consignned to the earth like a dog. ■'.. A marked _contrast, wats it:

Some may sing of the glories of Napoleon, the hero of Lodi; and others of 'Wellingtoq,: the hero of Waterloo and a hundred, fights-, s but ,^bat ,are all their achievements, g^eat as they,:may be,,in comparison to the heroic deeds of Florence IftgntJngale, who smoothed the pillow of the sick,'and relieved the'wants of tke dying;—-to Howard, that great philanthropist,, who spent a large for-, tune, and the best energies ,of his life in the endeavor to ameliorate the condition of .his fellow wan. !No dungeon, however loathsome, no hospital, however pestilential, deterred him from his •praiseworthy efforts, which only ended with life itself. These are our great prototypes. We boast not of feats of arms, but of deeds of mercy.— Mr. ffart, at the opening of tJie Odd Felloivs' Hall, Wellington.

Odd-Fellowship.—Their mutual benevolence and kindly feeling were apparent, and he knew of no eociety better calculated, to promote such feelings. Were-it not for Odd-Fellowship, he could assure them, the drain on the public purse would have been much, greater than it had been. Bnfc the amount of good done by the Society was not to be measured by the sums expended, but by the habits of industry and temperance which it inculcated. No private individuals were so well calculated to do such an amount of good. Indiscriminate private charity instead of elevating the character, of its recipient, tended rather to degrade it. Again;'' private charity' •was intermittent, whereas that of Odd-fellowship1 was; persistent and everflowing. In tact, it was not charity in the ordinary acceptation of the term; it was an act of right and not of favor. It might be claimed as a matter of right, being simply- a refund out of the common fund to which the recipient had contributed. In whatever light Odd-Feilowship was regarded— whether as relieving the sick and afflicted, or as.incul-cating-habits of industry and temperance, it must ever enlist the sympathies of our kindlier feelings.— Dr. Featkerstone, Ibid.

Quaker Casuistey.—Thomas Coles was a consistent member of the Society of Friends. At the village of Glencone, where he resided, : the Episcopal congregation had just procured a very fine organ, which was the admiration of all the lovers of sweet sounds in the district. On one occasion Friend Coles took1 his seat among the congregation, and his opinion, of the organ was gathered from the, following conver-". sation a few days afterwards : between him and; the rector:—"Friend Mallaby, -I am pleased■ that thou hast a'fine organ in thy church." " But," said the clergyman, " I thought you were opposed, to having an organ in^ a church." "Sol am," jreplied.the-Friend, "'"■ but' then, if thee worship*the Lord by machinery, I would; like thee to have a first-rate instrument."

" A piece of good fortune "which-rarely arrives to an actress," says-the Journal dv Havre, "has befallen Mdle. Emilie Dubois, of the' Theatre Francais. An old ■■ gentleman has bequeathed her 200,000fr., and he declares in iiis will that the bequest is made for no other reasons than admiration of her talent as an actress and of her exemplary conduct ia private life*