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iVM. II. NORRIS, W. M. WM. J. DANIEL, Sec'y.
TALBERT A. McELROY, S. W. L. E. SALLES, S. D.
ALSA F. RODGERS, J. W. A. Mc M. BREAZEALE, J. D.1
EDWARD B. HOLLOW AY, Tr. MARTIN HESLER, Ty.
WM. M. DILLARD, .Chap.
of Cohge.
J. A. LODOR, W. M. E. B. WILSON, Treas.
T. G. RAINER, S. W. T. J. PORTIS, Sec'y.
J. B. DUKE, J. W. W. A. ROGERS, S. I).
GEORGE. F. CUSHMAN, Chap. J. W. KELLEX, J. D.
R. J. TRAYERS, Ty.
CAHABA, June 6th, 1856.
Rev. Geo. F. CtrsHMAHr—Rev. Sir and Brother:—The undersigned
have been appointed a committee on behalf of Halo Lodge, No. 5, id
invite you to deliver a Masonic Address on the 23d inst., at the Public
Institution of the Officers of the Lodge.
They trust you will have no hesitancy in accepting, the invitatioii
now tendered, and afford them individually and officially, the pleasure
of announcing to Halo Lodge, your willingness to serve the Fraternity
as desired. Yours Fraternally,*
THOS. J. PORTIS, ) ~ ...
J. B. DUKE. '\OommxtUe.
Rev. Geo. F. Cushman.
CAHABA, June 7th, 1855.
Messrs. T..J. Portis & J. B. Duke—Brethren:—The invitation which
as a committee of Halo Lodge, you have tendered to me to deliver ah
Address before the Masonic Fraternity at the Institution of the Offi-
cers of the Lodge, on the 23d inst., has been received.
I have always regarded it as no less a duty than a pleasure to dis-
charge to the best of my ability, the obligations Under which I rest to'
the Brethren of the Mystic Tib, and that they have proffered me such
an invitation, is a sufficient reason for my acceptance of it-
With my acknowledgements of the hoiior conferred upon me by the
Lodge, aijd of the coiirtesy of yourselves, both officially and individu-
ally. I remain your friend and brother,
GEO. F. CUSHMAN.
T. J. Portis & J. B. Duke, Esq.'s, Com. of Halo Lodge.
CAHABA, June 23d, 1855.
Rev. Geo.F. Cushman—Bear Sir and Brother:—The undersigned have
ieen appointed a joint committee on behalf of Fulton and Halo Lodges/
to request of you for publication, a copy of the eloquent and appropri-
ate Ad dress delivered by you this day. Ilopingby your compliance with
that request, you will gratify your brethren.
We are yours Fraternally,
t. a. Mcelroy, )
L. E. SALLES, > Com. of Fulton Lodge.
W. DANIEL. )
J. TJ. DUKE, )
T. G. RAINER, S Com. of Halo Lodge.
E. B. WILSON. )
Rev. Geo. F. Cusiiman.
C All ABA, June 25th, 1855.
Messrs. T. A, McElroy, L. E. Sallys, W. Daniel—Com. of Fulton Lodge;
Messrs. J. B. Duke, T. G. Rainer, E. B. Wilson—Com. of Ilalo Lodge:
Brethren:-^-Your joint note, requesting for publication, a copy of the
Address delivered by me on the 23d inst., has been received.
The judgment of the two Lodges you represent that the publication
of the Address will serve the interests of the Fraternity, is my warrant
for complying with the request.
Herewith, you will receive a copy of the Address, and with many
thanks for the kind terms you have been pleased to use.
I remain your friend and brother,
GEO. F. CUSIIMAN,
Messrs. McElroy, Duke, and others.
Worshipful Masters and Brethren—Ladies and Gentlemen t
This day presents to our eyes an unusual, if not altogether an um*
precedentcd spectacle. Clothed with' the regalia and instruments of
our calling, we, whoso doors are ordinarily guarded by the drawn
sword'of the Tyler, and whose business is conducted beneath an im-
penetrable veil of secrecy, have left the sacred privacy of our Lodge.
We have unbarred our doors, and have come up hither to perform our
Masonic work, aqd to keep our festal day. We have drawn aside tho
curtain that others may see a glimmering of that Light whose mcridi-
an splendor if is our high privilege to enjoy.
It can not bo, but such a movement upon our part, will attract at-
tention and excite enquiry. Wo, ourselves, have invited the scrutiny
of the public, and can not, if we would avoid their questioning. Who
are these and what moan they by this service ? Why have they left
the usual avocations of-their business to clothe themselves with these
strange symbols, and to perform this mysterious work ? What is this
day more than others, and what especial interest have these in it?—»
The State has proclaimed no feast—they arc not keeping a christian
fast—it is no political gathering, and no scholastic assemblage, They
are not here in their capacity as citizens, nor in obedience to their spir-
itual rulers. Here wo see men of every rank and calling—of every
faith and party, meeting in harmony, as though bound by some mysto-
rious tie which has carried them beyond the influence of human pas-
sion. The noise of political strife is hushed, and the bitterness of the-
©logical hatred is for the moment assuaged. Every creed has here its
representative, every party its adherents, sitting side by side in friend-
liness. Were they Brethren indeed the bond of union could not be
stronger—the clasped Land and speaking eye tell of a mutual affection
tvs fervent as it is real. Here the distinctions of society are done away.
All are alike rich, and alike poor—there is no least and no greatest.—
No worldly honor gives pre-eminence, and no title is recognised but that
of moral worth. They meet all upon the same Level and part all upon
the same Square. They walk between the same Parallels and are cir-
cumscribed by the same Circle. Again it is asked who are they and
how is it that in this discordant ago they have been able to bring Light
out of darkness and order out of confusion.
Such Worshipful Masters and Brethren, arc some of the enquiries and
thoughts which our appearance this day must necessarily suggest.—
We do not propose wholly to answer them—we are not competent even
were it lawful. We can but say to the enquirers what was said to us.
Come and see. But we may nevertheless to some extent raise the cur-
tain thai divides us from the world. We may say whence we are and
whither we go. We may speak freely of the genius and aims of Ma-
sonry, though we may not unfold the means by which those aims are
effected. We may enlarge upon our ancient claims to the respect and
love of men, and upon those cardinal principles of morality and virtue,
which, upon either hand aro our pillars of Wisdom, Strength and
Beauty. We may expose to the gaze of all men, that Masonic Ladder
reaching from earth to heaven, by the help of whose rounds we trust at
last to bo able to reach the Grand Lodge above. We may speak of
the Temple of Solomon—of its beauty and magnificence—of its splen-
dor and purity—tho fitting typo of that other Temple which all Free
and Accepted Masons aro to erect in their hearts for the in-dwelling of
the Spirit of that God whose existence we all acknowledge, and whose
majesty we adore. We may tell the world that Masonry is a fountain
ot Relief to the poor, of Charity to the distressed, and of Truth to all—
that the prayer of the widow and the orphan, and the blessing of him
that was ready to perish, have ever been our rich inheritance. We
may say that while we feel the woes of all men and as far as wo can
alleviate them, Brother is still the readiest passport to our hearts.
It dissipates all doubt and indifference, and enkindles in our breast
the warmest love, and we neither may nor dare—whatever his namo
or lineage turn him if in adversity unrelieved away, nor refuse to
wish him God speed if prosperity crowns his labors. It is no small
part of the Mason's mission as far as man may to restore brotherhood
upon earth, and to strengthen those fraternal ties which should bind
man to man and follow to fellow. The two great commandments sum
up with admirable brevity our duty—the love of God and the love of our
neighbor.
If it be asked when we received this mission, we aro neither asham-
ed nor afraid to confess that we do not know. The origin of our Insti-
tution is lost in the antiquity of time. Age after age, and generation
after generation, wo trace our existence back far beysnd any written
records. Where these altogether fail, we still refer to the unbroken
line of our traditions sacredly preserved. Not the New World still
flourishing with the vigor of youth-—not Europe exhibiting signs of ad-
vancing age saw our birth; but in the very cradle of our race was the
place of our nativity, and we bear even date with the infancy of tho
world. That great epoch of humanity the christian era is not the start-
ling epoch to the Mason. Before the dawn of that day, Masonic Light
had arisen in theEast. Through the ancient and modern times of chrie-
tianity amid the hidden systems of an idolatrous age, wc carefully
4
trace our -way not to the origin but to the more perfect organization of
our craft at the building of King Solomon's Temple. How long before
that event we had lived and flourished, it were more curious than pro-
fltable to enquire. The necessities of man gave us our first being in
pur operative character, and the Mason and the Architect may boast,
a common parentage. Even in the days of our first Grand Master,
the venerable frosts of antiquity lay thick upon the brow of Masonry,
and it had all the signs of ago but its infirmities. The lapse of time,
qhange of place and circumstance brought no decay, but like the Eagle
from time to time it renewed its youth and gathered strength by pro-
gress. The Acacia sprang ever in its footsteps to be the emblem of its
immortality. Empires rose and fell—thrones crumbled and decayed—
dynasties were changed or expired, but Masonry still survived. Upon
the pyramids of Egypt the date of whose construction no written re-
cord remains to toll amid the ruins of Balbaoc and Palmyra, and upon
the exhumed monuments of cities which have been buried beneath the
accumulated dust of more than twenty centuries, the modern Mason
reads with wondering awe his symbolic language. To Nineveh and
Tyre—to the Holy City and the banks of the fruitful Nile, we can look
back as the cherished homes of our ancient art. In the classic land of
Greece—amid the vino clad hills and sunny fields of Italy—whilo Pom-
pei and Ilerculanpum were still the pride of men, the cloudy canopy
covered the East, thp Wost and the South. Later still, St. John the
Baptist, whose festival we now commemorate, and St. John the Evan-
gelist, were selected as the christian patrons of an Institution—older
than Christianity itself. With no laltering step we have advanced from
that day to this. We have outlived the persecutions of Emperors and
the blind fury of Republics—we have survived the ignorance and pre-
judices of men. No height of prosperity has been able to destroy us—
the hottest fires of adversity have only served to purify the dross from
the sterling ore. In the dawn of our Era we still wrought our work,
in the Dark Ages our Light shone upon a benighted world, and we
can boast to-day of greater numbers and of a more extended sphere
than when in our virgin prime, the Widow's son presided over the con-
struction of the first great Temple of the Universal Architect.
We may also claim an universality as wide as our antiquity is ven-
prable. There is no land where the Masonic carpet has not been spread
and no clime where reverence for the Widow's son has not been inspir-
ed. In the luxurious palaces and cloud-capped towers of th». gorgeous
East—amid the rising cities of the West, the sound of the Mason's
gavel is heard. No barrier has been able to impede our progress or
stay our onward march. We have crossed the wide Ocean—have fol-
lowed the course of rivers—have ascended the mountain-height and
taken up our abode in the loneliest valley. Continents have felt our
presence—the romotest island of the remotest sea has responded to our
brotherly salutation. We have traversed the frozen regions of the
North—we have braved the heat and pestilence of the South. We
have made the sea-board our home, and have penetrated far into the
interior of all lands. From pole to pole our influence extends—the
range of our empire knows n® rising and no setting sun. Civilization
and refinement speak our language—the savage and the barbarian ao-
knowlede the strength of the mystic tie. By the quiot hearth-stone—7
in the busy mart and upon the ensanguined battlefield, the sign is re-
cognized and obeyed. They who are brothers in peace can not be mad§
5
enemies in war. The Masc-n carries about him an universal passport,
and may claim in reality what the ancient Roman arrogated to himself
but did not enjoy-—to bo a cosmopolite—a citieen of the world. By the
power of the pass and token, he may travel without fear upon the shores
of Jud or in the realms of far Cathay, or etill prouder trophy of our pow-
,er, he may roam our remote Western forests secure of a welcome not
only to tho homos but to the hearts of Brethren.
And we are not only thus extended into all lands, but in all lands
we are one an4 the same. Long centuries ago it was the fond dream
of the diplomatist and statesman, to establish one language for the na-
tions of the earth-—to be the language of courts. The Mason has alono
been able to realise the dream which surpassed their skill and power.
No Babel exists within tbe walls of his Lodge, and the confusion of
tongues is done away. Greek and Barbarian, Jew and Gentile there
make use of the same signs, and speak tho same shibboleth. He alone
has been able to obtain that union of sentiment which leads to harmo-
ny of action—he alone has been able to banish strife and discord from
the scene of his labor and his joys. "We speak with one voice, because
we speak from the abundance of the heart.
Look at the great country of which we are citizens—its divided in-
ierests and conflicting parties raging ever like the waves of a tumultu-
ous sea. Though we share a common heritage and speak a common
language, we are not at peace one with another. Faction raises its
triumphant head and the madness of fanaticism sways the hour. When
we meet in grand council in our Legislative halls, it is no longer to ex-
change fraternal sentiments and to provide for common interests but
wrangle and debate—to attempt encroachments and to resist. The
solemn sanctions of law-—the guaranties of the Constitution and tho
obligations of official oaths, are wilfully disregarded or lightly ex-
plained away. Sectional strife and party selfishness are taking the
place of an enlarged patriotism, and it can not be concealed that the
folly and degeneracy of tho sons are putting in peril that union which
the Fathers founded by their wisdom and hallowed by their prayers.
Dark clouds hang around the present—the patriot can augur no good
from thp history of the past, and the future is ominous with dread and
fear. Fanaticism and folly are blind and reasonless, and will never
voluntarily loose their deadly fangs, and there is—there can be no
hope, save in their destruction or our own. When we are compelled to
exchange the patriot and statesman for the bigot and fanatic, it needs
neither seer nor prophet to tell us what the end will be, unless some
means can be devised to stay the progress of the plague. Its strong
foundations will be undermined—its mighty pillars thrown down—the
key-stone be loosed from the arch, and the great Temple of the Repub-
lie be buried in its owq ruins.
If we turn to the religious world, we find a want of union no less to
be deplored. Its own quarrels and divisions have drawn so largely
upon its time and energies, that if it had the will it has not had the
power to harmonize the interests of warring States. Alas, that we
must say so Christianity—not that which descended from above and is
first pure and then peaceable, but Christianity as it is developed in the
Northern section of our land, has not been able to restrain from her
pwn councils the reckless spirit of fanaticism which is doing so much
to mar our happiness. We find christian societies as well as political
parties sitting in judgment upon their neighbors—issuing their thun-
dcring bulls of excommunication, and like the over-righteous Pharisees
o.f old uttering their "proeul! 0 ! promt! cste profani." licligion is the
f avorite cloak of fanaticism in which it delights to walk forth in appear-
ance, an Angel of light, hut in reality filled with malice, hatred and
all uncharitahlencss. It steals the very livery of heaven to serve the
devil in. Thus disguised, it has crept slily amid the denominations of
our land—those bonds of union in the judgment of our great Southern
Statesman stronger than any political compact could he—and has pur-
sued its noiseless and unsuspected way until at length it has levened
the whole mass. Now it is stronger than they with whom in its weak-
11 ess it found a shelter, and with unblushing* effrontery it throws off its
disguise and claims to rule or ruin. It requires all to adopt its preju-
dices and imitate its follies—to lie upon its bed and to swear by its Gods
upon peril of its determined vongcancc. To such demands there is,
there can be but "one answer to be made, and Christianity like the State
has its North and its South. The strong cords to which the Statesman
turned as his last hope, are proving to be like Samson's green withes,
without strength or influcneo.
Under such circumstances, wo may with pardonable pride, turn to
Masonry and recognize her genius and her power. There is the two-
fold cord that is strong, and the three-fold cord that is not easily brok-
en. Her craftsmen every where pursue their appointed task in quiet-
ness and peace. Political strife can not enter her guarded doors—fa-
naticism can not raise its discordant voice at her altars. The questions
that have shaken this government to its foundation, the questions that
have forever sundered those who worship the same God and hold the
same faith, have never boon mooted in her councils. She exists in
strength in the North—her Lodges rise upon the fertile Savannahs,
and beneath the orange groves of the South, and no rivalry has ever
sprang between them except as to who should best perform their Ma-
sonic work. Even in Massachusetts, once mother and nurse to patri-
ots and statesmen, but now the hot-bed of misrule, and unreason the
Southern slaveholder when cut off from christian altars, and in attempt
tabooed from society, can stand upon the floor of ovory Mason's Lodge
with his equals and his peers—yea with his Brethren. Par aloof from
all disturbing questions with Compass and Level, Plumb-line and
Square, the Craftsman plies his work. He fears no extraneous infiu-
cnce, and the Master's caution to take heed upon what he enters ho
applies as well to the subject of his thought and words as to himself.
Whatever differences of opinion upon politics, upon religion, and upon
questions of morality may exist elsewhere, none can be tolerated here.
The silence that waited upon the construction of the first Temple, so
that not so much as the sound of a hammer was heard, was the fitting
symbol of that peace and harmony which in all ages attends upon the
Mason's handiwork.
But it will be asked whence is it that Masonry derives its power.—
Its antiquity—its universality, and its unity are alike remarkable.—
Other organizations are limited in duration and extent. They spring
up and die by reason of the strife and discord that are generated in
their birth. The obvious answer is that Masonry retains its power be-
cause it is true to its own genius and principles. It has a mission to
perform, and it turns neither to the right hand nor to the left, but stu-
dies to be quiet and to do its own business. This is the secret—the
great secret of its success and favor with men. To every person seeking
7
admission to its Light, it is asked what eomest thou hither to do, and
he is taught to reply, to learn to subdue my passions and improve
myself in the sacred arts and mysteries of ancient Free Masonry. This
is our only aim—to subdue our passions to act upon the square—to
keep the tongue of a good report, and practice charity.
We do not claim—we never have claimed for Masonry any divine
origin. It is not Christianity—it is not even a substitute for it. It is
not the church. Wo do not expect it to do the work of the church.—
That hails from heaven—we confess to an earthly derivation. He is
no true Mason who attempts to set up so unwarrantable a claim. While
yet in the darkness of ignorance, every candidate for Masonic honors
upon bended knee, is brought into actual contact with the word of God.
That is our Magna Charta, and is ever open upon our altars. Thence
we draw light and knowledge—thence we receive our rules of thought
and action. While we recognise the Scriptures as our Grand Consti-
tution, wo can not rightly be accused of claiming that Masonry is either
Christianity or a substitute for it. We never have given to the Ahim-
an Reson a co-ordinate rank with the word of God. Our principles
would men act upon them, have a meliorating not a savin fj influence.
But while we do not claim any equality with, wo may rightly say
that Masonry is a handmaid and adjunct to Christianity. It draws its
principles from the same store-house, and its lessons of morality are
taught from the same book. It has so far as it goos the same objects
in view, to subdue our passions, enlighten our reason and elevate our
moral nature. It addresses itself to the intellect, the affections and the
heart of men. Recognizing his two-fold nature, its impressive and
instructive lessons arc taught by solemn charges which speak to the
understanding aud by meaning symbols for the senses. Under each of
those mystic characters graven upon the Mason's chart, there is a hid-
den and significant language which affects all his relations to his fel-
lows and to his God. Where the uninitiated see but an unmeaning
sign, he reads of Faith, Hope and Charity. He carries about with him
the badges of the cardinal virtues that he may the better learn to chcr-
ish in his heart and practice in his life the duties of Fortitude, Pru-
dence and Justice. He not only hears but he sees exemplified before
him, Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. He works in Patience to rest
in Hope. These lessons and such as these—the great tenets of his
profession arc impressed upon his mind in every possible way. Ho
reads them in the Ancient Constitutions and the word of God—in the
open symbol and the secret sign, in the cordial grip and word. He is
thus instructed in his duties to his God and to himself—in his duties
as a citizen and as a neighbor—in his capacity as a Father, a Son and
a Brother. In all the possible relations of life he is taught to square
his actions by tho unerring word of God and by the laws of morality
and virtue.
If then Brethren of Fulton and Halo Lodges, such arc the character-
istics and aims of our Institutions, a great weight of responsibility rests
Upon us. We have come to the Masonic Light and must walk as be-
comes it. We are now living in a critical period of our history. The
fires of persecution have rolled away, and the greater dangers of pros-
perity press upon us. Every where wo arc rapidly increasing in num-
bers and influence—too rapidly we fear for our own best interests.—
With the utmost caution that can be used it can not be but that some
will find entrance among us who arc not of us, and whose inconsistent
lives will bring :.»;.;t.dai upon our Order and disgrace upon themselves.
It is the history of all organizations human and divine. If such bo
our misfortune wo must make the tenets of our profession our rule and
guide, and unceasingly use the gavel if so be the rough may become a
perfect Ashler. Bear patiently with the infirmities of the weak. By
kindness, by forbearance, by long suffering, by love correct if possible
his faults. Accept the offering of his sorrow and restore him again
and again to the forfeited place in your affections—
"Think gently cf the erring,
Oh, do not thou forget,
However darkly stained by sihj
He is thy BROTHER yet.
Heir of the self-same heritage,
Child of the self-same Cod,
He hath bat stumbled in the path,
Thou hast a weakness trod." ' .
But if in the end he proves incorrigible and wilful—if there is no
hope of his walking within compass—if he is obdurate and will not be
circumscribed, tlicn however painful it may be, there is still a duty to
be done. While we hear with the weakness of all, we can tolerate the
vices of none, We must exscind without mercy the wilfully corrupt
member lest the deadly gangrene phrvade and destroy the whole system;
Brethren of our Order, tve should learn wisdom and caution by the
lessons of experience. By our love for this venerable Institution—by
our zeal for the sacred cause of morality and virtue—by the solemn ob-
ligations which we have taken upon us--by our duty to our Craft, to
society and to ourselves, let us tyle well our doors. While we com-
mand the approaches to our courts, we shall be held responsible if the
cowan and the cavcs-dropper gain access to our sanctuary, or if any
but the meritorious and deserving are rewarded with that b&lge which;
wdicn worthily worn is "more ancient than the Golden Fleece or Ho-
man Eagle, and more honorable than the Star or Garter." May the
Brethren of the Mystic Tie wherever dispersed, never fall into the
grievous error of measuring their prosperity by their numbers, nor
over forget that he alone is the true Mason, Free and Accepted, who walks
at home and abroad within the Lodge andoutof it by the Rule and Square.
And now, though we have detained you long, wemaynotolose without
a word to the gentle Spirits who have this day graced us with their
presence and gladdened us with their smiles. With your quick per-
eeptions you will have already seen, ladies, in the course of our rfemarks,
the reason, and the only reason w hy, by our ancient laws, our doors
are barred to you, to whom our hearts are ever opon as the day. It
proceeds from no want of respect and, deference for that sex which may
well be called the natural guardian of morality and virtue. Masonry
is a stern system of chocks and restraints w hich we can not bring our-
selves to believe, need to be applied to you "the precious porcelain of
humanity," in order to subdue passiofi or teach you charity. Charity
like purity, is one of the instincts of your nature, which you exercisd
and share in common with the Angels. A chivalrous deference to woman
is peculiarly a Masonic virtue, and he is alike degenerate as a Son and'
as a Mason, whose bosom it docs not animate, and whose conduct it
does not rule. Look around you, and you w ill find that the elected re-
prcsentatives of your hearts—your fathers and husbands—your lovers
and brothers are hero, and though you seek not to join us, we, as in
duty bound, will ever pray to join you and he received by you not upon
one ei>ly; but upon a!! tbn point.: cf a perfect Fellowship.