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CIHM/ICMH 
 
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 Series. 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
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 Canadian Institute for Historical Microraproductions / institut Canadian da microraproductions historiquas 
 
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Ttohnieal and Bibliographic Notaa/Notas tachnlquaa at MMIographlquaa 
 
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 ORATION: 
 
 DKLIVKRFCD AT THK INAUGrRATION <»!• THK 
 
 ]^EW MjSlSOHIC HjSlLL, 
 
 ON 
 
 GOVERNMENT STREET, VICTORIA. VANJOUVER ISLAND. 
 
 On MONDAY, 25tli JUNE, A. L., 5866, 
 
 —BY— 
 
 BRO. THE RKY. THOMAS SOMKRYIUB, A. M. 
 
 CHAPLAIN TO VANCOUVER LODGlJ. NO. 421. ON THE REGISTRY OF THK 
 GRAND LODGE OF SCOTLAND, AND TO VICTORIA LODGE, NO. 783, 
 ON THE REGISTRY OF THE GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND. 
 
 COLONIST AND CHRONICLE PRIST. 
 
 
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 TO 
 
 M, W.POWELL, ■•«., Past Master of the Day; BOBeBT 
 BVBNAB Y, Esq., Bight Worshipful master of the Day t 
 Bl. I. BTBUSTADT, Esq., Senior Warden ; and LVRILEV 
 FBARTKLIlf , Esq., Junior Warden of the Day ; and the 
 B!^ethren of the Masonic Lodges in 
 
 VICTORIA, V. I. 
 
 THIS ADDRESS, 
 
 DBUVntlD AT IBB 
 
 Inauguration of the New Hall, 
 
 Ob the 25th JUNE, A. D., 186«, 
 
 M ROW TUMiM«m BT THBIR OBUOBD BROTBBR, 
 
 THOMAS SOMERVILLE. 
 
Bei^otro Bbbthrbu : 
 
 In conaenting that the following address AouW be 
 printed, I have simply sacrificed my wisbeB to yours. Since you 
 deem thr^t it may prove an acceptable memorial of an occasion so 
 interesting, and strengthen tho cause of Masonry. I pl»ce it entirely 
 at your disposal. I present it in the exact form m which it was 
 delivered. I do this not from waiit of desire to fimend it, but from the 
 same reason which prevented me from preparing it more carefully at 
 the first-want ot time, amid tho pressing duties of my vocation. 
 
 I am. 
 With all Fraternal Regard, 
 
 THOMIS SOMERVILLE. 
 
 r 
 
B. 
 
 WoMHippuL Master and Brethmjn : 
 
 Truly it i» my desire that another more experienced in the 
 mysteries of our Order had i)een appointed for this duty. I have 
 only consented to address you that it may be shown in practice what 
 we assert in theory, that none may refuse the work appointed by the 
 Masters. 
 
 The Dedication of the Lodge is one of the most solemn ordin- 
 ances of our ancient order, and I am certain that as these holy symbols 
 stood unveiled in their new resting place, and your thoughts wandered 
 back through tlie corridor of ages to the scene of their first introduc- 
 tion, and forward to the rich associations that will bo entwined 
 around them in the future, thoughts deep and hallowed could not fail 
 to well up from the springs of your heart. Be it simply mine, then, 
 as one for all, to voice forth these your silent reflections. 
 
 The work completed to-day is called " The Dedication of the 
 Lodge to the Holy Saint John," the patron of our order: But 
 strictly speaking the work has a double purpose — both dedication 
 and consecration. The Lodge is dedicated to virtue, in the name of 
 the Great Jehovah, and consecrated, separated and set apart to the 
 purpose of preserving the memory of these illustrious names. 
 
 It is dedicated to virtue. True masonry is the dutiful daughter 
 of Heaven. The Lodge is the sacred shrine of Almighty Jehovah. 
 By his law every mason must be a good and true man — true to him- 
 self, his fellows and to the Being before whom he has bent in adoring 
 reverence. The "stupid Aihiest or irreligious libertine" may make 
 himself a false man, but never a good mason. The mason is pledged 
 to pious virtue. Nor let be forgotten that virtue orginally meant 
 valor. Among the old Romans the most valorous man was esteemed 
 the most virtuous ; now while strength should not be all, it must still 
 form an important element of goodness. The good man must ever bo 
 a strong man. Mere sentimentalism is silly ; liko the vapour it appear- 
 eth for a little while and then vanisheth away. In every " good and 
 true man" there must be a healthy firmness. The feeling of desire 
 must be yoked with the principle of right, and will must drive thein 
 
 both. 
 
 Ragged strength and iftdiant betaty, 
 .~r„ .,. These were one in n&tare'i plan, 
 
 Hnmble toil and Heavenward dnty, 
 
 Tb«N will form the perfect mftn, 
 
 iii344,j 
 
[4] 
 
 To yirtuo, stroug and beautiful, is this Hall dedicated. Nerer 
 then let careless Icct defile its pavement, nor unclean hands touch its 
 ▼easels ; never let angry disputations be heard within its walls. 
 Conscience as a faithful Tyler must guard off the Furies of Discord. 
 Temper must be ever tempered and feeling chastened. It is that we 
 may become better men that we meet here, and all our labours — the 
 charges, the rituals, the ceremonies, nay, every jewel and ornament, 
 ev«ry article of furniture, every emblem and hieroglyphic, tend to 
 this point. 
 
 But more, the Lodge is consecrated to the memory of St. John 
 the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist ; and it is proper that we 
 should shortly recall to our minds their lives and labours. Right too, 
 that their names should have been linked together, not that they 
 were like each other, but just because they were widely different in 
 their temperaments and teachings. They were the exponents of the 
 two extremes in human character — the Baptist being the representa- 
 tive of fiery boldness, the Evangelist of shrinking love. The one was 
 a sturdy Doric column, the other a graceful Corinthian pillar. The 
 one was the complement of the other ; united together they combine 
 strength and beauty. 
 
 The Baptist was a truly heroic character. The last of all the 
 prophets, he was the greatest of all. Of his life we get only a few 
 glimpses, but these show us what sort of man he was. The first pic- 
 ture is that of an ardent youth among the solitudes of Israel's deserts. 
 Saddened by the hollowness of life in Israel and perplexed with the 
 controversies of Jerusalem — the wrangling of Sadducee with Pharisee, 
 of forme''"* ith mystic, of the disciples of one infallible Babbi, with 
 the disci <f another infallible Rabbi, he fled for refuge to the 
 wildern ,t,d, .o see if God could be found by the earnest soul that 
 sought him alone. For thirty years he lived in the desert ; then came 
 the time when the qualities nursed in solitude burst forth upon the 
 world. The people felt that a King of Men stood before them. The 
 desert swarmed with crowds ; warriors, profligates, publicans, the 
 heart broken — the worldly, the dissappointed — all came. Even the 
 King's attention is gained ; he is taken away from the simple life of 
 the desert and placed among the artificialities of the Royal City. 
 And now comes the question, " Does the stern prophet degenerate 
 into a sweet tongued courtier." Is the rough ashlar of the forest 
 broken into pieces in the process of polishing ? Verily no. He 
 stands in Herod's court, the prophet of the desert still, preaching 
 boldly the truth. When Herod would ally himself with his guilty 
 mistress, he at once said, "It is not lawful for thee to have her." Now 
 is he struck down like an eagle in its flight. The last picture is that 
 of this earnest, strong man cast into a dungeon by the guards of the 
 King. There he wears out his restless soul, until sacrificed to a 
 courtesan's whim. 
 
 May his name ever remind ns of courage in the hoar of trial and 
 inspire us with fortitude to reprove sternly all departures from 
 Masonic rule. ' 
 
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 None have ever had more of the csseDtial spirit of Masonry than 
 St. John the Evangelist. He was the principle of love personified. 
 Love was the secret of his religion, the burden of his teaching, the 
 substanco of his life, and the promise of his heaven. Whether we 
 behold him leaning on liis Master's breast, or wandering as a teacher 
 among the nations of the East, he was the living illustration of his 
 constant theme. His, too, was a love not casilv quenched ; he was 
 persecuted, imprisoned, banished, tortured ; but his love survived his 
 trials. His life was love. Hear him, when old and feeble, writing 
 to his disciples, "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light ; he 
 tiint hatetli his brother walkcth in darkness." Such was the man. 
 May his name inspire us with his spirit, so that our labours in the 
 Lodge below may prepare us foi the rest in tho temple above. 
 
 Brethren, the Hcrvice in which we have this day engaged and the 
 symbols upon which we have gazed must have brought vividly to 
 mind tlic high antiquity of our Order. And this thought iet us cherish; 
 it will add dignity and lustre to our pursuits. It is impossible not 
 to fool the spell of long proscription in some degree. The Jew can- 
 not but feel proud thnl the blood which lired Abraham's bosom still 
 runs in hi-« veins ; the Greek, wandering among the beautiful groves 
 ni' his native IniKJ, cannot but icflect with pleasure on the time when 
 tlie fathers of philosophy assembled there their pupils, and the poet's 
 song waked rapturous nppl \use in the neighbouring theatres ; the 
 iiioclern denizen of Rome, when he sees the eager strangers throng its 
 streets and spoil its temples, lecls the emotion of pride as he reflects 
 that the time was, when tlic queenly city, seated securely on her 
 f^even liilU, gave hiws to their barbarous forefathers ; the representa- 
 tive of Great Britain, gazing upon his country's flag in the land of 
 the stranger, feels it all the dearer to his heart when he remembers 
 that for a thousand years it has braved the battle and the breeze, and 
 numbers up the many hard fought battles ovor which it has floated ; 
 the worshipper in an ancient church has all the more attachment to 
 it when he considers that the walls of its cathedrals are now grey 
 with years, and that for centuries has gone up to the Most High the 
 same sacred song ; and if any cherish this feeling, surely may we, 
 when we search the records of Masonry and look back upon its 
 existence even beyond the period of these records. *' The sources of 
 the noblest rivers which spread fertility over continents and bear 
 richly laden vessels to the sea, are to be sought for in wild and bar- 
 ren tracts, incorrectly laid down in maps and rarely explored by 
 travellers." Far back in the dim and hoary past, beyond the period 
 of authentic history lies the origin of Masonry. We do indeed catch 
 glimpses of it as it rolls along near to the fountain head, yet when 
 we first clearly behold it, it bursts upon our eyes as a broad, deep 
 river, well defined and beautiful. There can be littlo doubt that 
 long before the Christain era, the mountains of Judea, the plains of 
 Syria, the deserts of India, and the valley of the Nile were cheered 
 by its presence and fertilized by its current. Nearly three thonsand 
 years ago there were in Asia the Dionyeian architects, a great 
 
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 iii344 
 
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 corporation who uDdertook and even monopolised the building of 
 taroples, stadiums and theatres, recognized each other by signs and 
 tokens, were possessed of certain esoteric doctrines, and called all 
 other nen profane, who were not admitted to these mysteries. Of 
 these were the cunning workmen sent by Hiram, King of Tyre, to 
 aid in the erection of the temple 1000 years before the Christian era. 
 Here it is that Masonry first meets us in strength and beauty. In the 
 construction of this magnificent edifice, 113,000 men were engaged 
 under 300 overseers, and its building occupied seven years. And 
 surely that day when the first temple was completed, must rise 
 vividly before the minds of us assembled within the last consecrated. 
 It was a great and joyous day in .lerusalem. Wor.rily had they 
 waited whilst it gradually rose up towards the skies, and now the 
 capstone was brought forth with shoutings. The multitude of the 
 people thronged the courts and stretclied iiway down the streets to 
 the very walls of the city. Attracting every eye, crowning the 
 summit of Mount Moriah stood the templo with its lol'ty columns, and 
 beauteous towers and gilded roof, sparkling in the pure sunlight oi 
 heaven — the chosen dwelling place of Jeiiovah — the joy of the whole 
 earth, and the visible symbol of that other not made with hands. 
 Within it were placed the brazen altar, and the golden altar, and 
 the other vessels that had been in the tabernacle. In the Iloiy of 
 Holies placed they the mercy seat and the ark, and within that iLe 
 moral law written on the tables of stone and delivered long before to 
 Moses amid the thunderings of Sinai. Then, us it has been said, 
 " did Masonry go forth bearing upon her brow the name of Jeliovuh. 
 in her bosom a jewel of living radiance, and in her hand the key 
 that unlocked the gates of immortality. For more than 20C0 years 
 has she been telling man of a Being* brighter than the stars, and 
 endless as eternity." Before the victorious son of Philip marched 
 his phalanxes, or ever Romulus walked by Tiber's stream, had she 
 been telling man how to live and how to die. Oh ! surely it is 
 something to boast of, that her language has rolled from so many 
 tongues — that her altar tires have been kindled for so many centuries 
 — that her beneficent works have been performed by so many hands. 
 To remove her landmarks and her handmarks, the ancient buildings 
 and the cathedrals, those chefs (Vanvre of the middle age must bn 
 razed to the ground, even to the last stone ; for everywhere in the 
 floor, the pavements, the columns, the mouldings, and the roofs, the 
 masons, the sculptors, and the architects have left their marks. 
 Thus high and honorable is the prescription in her favor. Old she 
 is, but there appear not yet the signs of senility. Mighty her works 
 injjthe past, but there gather not the manifestations of weakness or 
 weariness. Time has written no wrinkle on her spotless brow. In 
 the virtues of her children, she ever renews her youth. In her 
 purification from profane appendages, she ever strengthens her 
 stakes. In the distribution of the civilised races she ever lengthenj 
 her cords. Her lessons and her precepts — those grand moral flcyra 
 of the universe — are of perennial growth. As they bloomed in Pales- 
 
 
tine, tlioy bloom in this, tho farthest west. As they were with 
 Solomon and our fathers, so arc they with ns ; and as with us, so 
 shall they be with our children's children. 
 
 Of such thoughts are we reminded by the Lodge and tho Dedica- 
 tion Service. Turn we now to the living stones of the temple — the 
 members of the craft. As a society of men, we assert the dignity of 
 laoour, the Harmony of Union, and the Wisdom of Organization. 
 
 We assert the dignity of labour. Activity is demanded, in- 
 action and sloth proscribed. The high vocation of man is to be the 
 fellow-worker with Qod. The vitalities of the universe are of God, 
 the instrumentalities are of man. The Qreat Architect has laid out 
 for us a plan and richly covered the earth with material, but man 
 must work it to its end. Even Paradise had to be dressed, aad 
 though the earth were all to become as fair and fertile as the prime- 
 val abode, the neglect of a single generation would throw it back to 
 a woary waste. God has sown in society the seeds of government, 
 of science, of art ; but man must devclope and apply thom. The laws 
 of taste for instance are innately plantcl vvithin us, but it is tho 
 chisel of the sculptor and the pencil ol the artist that give embodi- 
 ment to these laws in the noble temple end the magnificent picture. 
 In everything man's labor is the complement of tho Creator's bounty. 
 " Laborare est orare." Work is truiy religious, nay, labor is life. 
 
 " Nature livei by action ; 
 Beast, bird, air, fire, the beaveni and rolling world, 
 All live by aotioD ; nothing lives at rest 
 Bat death and ruin ; man is cared of eare, 
 Fashioned and improved by labor." 
 
 These truths are too often forgotten. They have in some measure 
 been slipping away from the present generation — that looks upon 
 work as degrading. To look upon our platforms and our exchanges 
 whore men most do congregate, one might think that the chief end 
 of man was to talk, to buy and to sell — not to work. In the midst of 
 all this does Masonry assert the dignity of labour. Originally a fra- 
 ternity of practical builders, in later days the work is of a speculative 
 nature ; still, however, the motto is " a fair day's wage for a fair 
 day's work." Honours are given to the diligent, the drones are 
 discouraged in the busy hive, and in many ways she asserts the 
 dignity of man's primeval duty. 
 
 Your presence here also asserts the Harmony of Union. The 
 Lodge is the world in miniature. From east to west is its length, 
 from south to north is its breadth, from earth to heaven is its 
 height, and from the surface to tho centre of the terraqueous globe is 
 its depth. And in few places can this conception be realized so well 
 as here. At the ends of the earth we draw material from all the 
 earth. What a variety of races, nationalities, creeds and religions 
 are here represented 1 We have the Jew, long identified with 
 Masonry, forgetting his exclusivcness in communion with his 
 bretb^en—the Italian from the sunny south, joining hand with the 
 exile from Old Caledonia, the " Ultima Thule "of his forefathers— the 
 
 \ 
 
[81 
 
 Saxon from tho good old Cu^man stock, Bitting ia fellowship with 
 his sprightly neif^l'»our from the joyous land of France. The 
 Englishman and tiie American forgetting each their jealousies, and 
 rejoicing together in liberty, cqaality and fraternity. Nor arc the 
 Colonists awanting. Here the Canadian meets the Australian, and 
 here Nora Scotia and Vancouver Island intertwine their branches — 
 all living stones in the building, bound together by the cement of 
 charity, all forming a fit symbol and type of the time. 
 
 " When man to man the warld o'er, 
 Shall brithers be for a' that." 
 
 Furthermore, we assert the wisdom of organization. There 
 may be a union which is not a unity. The atoms in a sandpit are 
 close cnouirli togctlicr, but they do not form a unity. There is no 
 unity in a flock of sliecp, it is simply the repetition of so many things 
 similar to each other. In an organized unity all tlie members are 
 properly Fubordinatcd each to another, and the parts liarmouiously 
 arranged in their suitable relations. The body of man is an 
 organization wlicrc all the different parts, head, heart, finger, fibres, 
 and limbs seyerally conduce to a common good and depend on each 
 other. Now, Nature has not intended us to be like a flock of sheep, 
 mear each other and yet distinct from each other ; we are to be 
 organized. A common interest is to flow as the lifeblood through 
 all. As men rise in civilization, there appear the higher and finer 
 developments of combined relations. In savage life men are slightly 
 organized. Tho tribe is simply like a flock of sheep. The kingdom 
 or the empire is tlic result of experience and refinement. It says 
 much for Masonr}- that its common name has become " The Order." 
 To quote from an illustrious member, whose memory is deservedly 
 dear on this Pacific coast — the manly and large hearted Thomas 
 Starr King : — " How Masonry reflects to us or rather illustrates the 
 wisdom breathed by the Great Architect through all nature ! It is 
 said that order is Heaven's first law; it is no less true that it is Earth's 
 first privilege. It is the condition of beauty, of liberty, of peace. 
 Think how tho principle of order for all the orbs of heaven ia 
 hidden in the Sun. The tremendous power of his gravitation reach- 
 es thousands of millions of miles — and hampers tlie selfwill— the 
 centrifugal force of mighty Jupiter, of Uranus with his staff Of 
 moons, and of Neptune. There's a Grand Lodge for you, in which 
 these sftparatc anastcrs are held in check by tho Most Worshipful 
 Grand Master's power. Nor is it any hardsiiip that tlieso sep&rato 
 globes are so strictly under rule, and pay obedience to the Sun. Is 
 it not their chief blessing — their poverign privilege ? What if tho 
 order were less distinct and punctual? What if the force in these 
 globes that chafes under the central rein, and champs its curb, 
 should be successful for even a single day ? What if the earth should 
 gain liberty against the pull of the sun ? Beauty from that moment 
 would wither, fertility would begin to shrivel. The hour of seem- 
 ing freedom would be the dawn of anarchy; for the Sun's rulo is tho 
 condition of perpetual harmony, bounty, and joy." 
 
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 " The idea of this Heaven determined order, is committed to our 
 body through its Worshipful Grand Masters, Master, Wardens, Dea- 
 cons, and Craftsmen. The proper regard for it has preserved it 
 amid the breaking up of old empires, and maintains it in its mys- 
 terious, symmetrical and sublime proportions. It is the source of its 
 living vigor, and the promise of its future strength." 
 
 Finally brethreh, we read that when Solomon had finished the 
 Temple, he besought that the presence of the Lord would dwell there. 
 May this enlivening presence ever sanctify our fellowship 1 What of 
 our beautiful house and our service without that ? What of the 
 altar without the altar fire ? What of the richly ornate casket 
 without the jewel within ? What of the Mason without Masonic 
 principle ? He is only as the dead among the living — a rotten 
 stone in the building. Our Masonry, bretliren, must either be a 
 real thing, or an awful sham, a thing to be laid hold of and nailed 
 down to the counter by the detecter and hater of all shams. Am I 
 to respect the bad man, because for«ooth by forswearing himself, he 
 has gained the secrets of the craft ? Shall I prefer tlie man who has 
 tried to hide his rottoness with the garments of light? No brethren, 
 I will endure him — I will try faithfully to perform my vows to him, 
 but it is not in human nature to restrain my contempt for him. 
 
 Masonry is the daughter of Heaven ; let us who wear her 
 favors, never soil them on tiie earth. Invested as we arc with these 
 ancient and noble badges, let us walk in the light and not in dark- 
 ness. With clean hands and right spirits— with an eye of compassion 
 for the tear of sorrow, with an ear ever open to the cry of the dis- 
 tressed — with a hand ever ready to help the widow, and tl e orphan, 
 and the stranger, let us show to the world the inherent nobleness 
 of onr order. Thus may we go on from strength to strength, and at 
 length be admitted into the presence of the Supreme Grand Master, 
 and receive the password to celestial bliss. 
 
 The words of that old Masonic marching hymn, lately quoted 
 by Carlyle in his address to the students at Edinburgh, should 
 ring upon our ears: 
 
 The Maioo'a ways ar<9 
 A type of eziBtence, 
 And his persistenoe 
 !■ as the days are, 
 or men in the world. 
 
 The fnture hides in it 
 Gladness and sorrow ; 
 We press still thorow, 
 Nought that abides io it 
 Daanting as. Onward, 
 
 And solemn before as, 
 Veiled, the dark portal, 
 Ooal of all mortal. 
 Stars silent rest o'er as, 
 Grtyei under 00 silantt 
 
 While earnest tboa gazest, 
 Gomes boding of terror, 
 Comes phaotasm and error. 
 Perplexes the bravest 
 With doubt and misgiving. 
 
 Bat heard are the voices ; 
 Heard are the sages, 
 The worlds and the ages. 
 Choose well I your choice is 
 Brief, and yet endless. 
 
 Here eyes do regard yea 
 In eternity's etillneas ; 
 Here is all fullness ; 
 Ye biave to reward you ; 
 Work and despair not 
 
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