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Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 83, 14 May 1914, Page 6

The "man in the street' knows, that there are at present in Clxristchurcli very many gentlemen who have come here to attend a communication of the Grand Lodge of the Ancient, Free, and Accepted Masons of New Zealand. And tjiere his knowledge stops, and lie is left to the popular tales of the riding of the goat, Any, cheap encyclopaedia will tell him, the story of the "old dating back to- the fourteenth century, relating the legend of the Craft, and the fine, traditions of those who, built the great temple of Solomon, under the direction of the son of a widow—Hyram Abiff, son of the widow of Tvre. Times changed, and the Masons became no longer an operative. guild—men who did • not and had not worked at the craft were admitted. In 1716 four or more lodges met in the Apple Tree Tavern, London, and decided to form themselves into a Grand Lodge. On the day of St. John the Baptist, 1717, the first Grand Lodge was formed. Able management and the firm and sincere love and labour of those accepted (and that is no honour and a great testimonial to the morality of a man) have spread the Craft, literally through the whole earth. The great ideals have the approval of all men who honour themselves —the cfiths, it seems, are such as it wt-re a shame a man should not be bound i>y.

The newly-enthroned Grand Master of the New Zealand Constitution said last night: — •

"Freemasonry has been, and still is, the pioneer of the highest type of civilisation. Equality and fraternity are its watchwords. Within the doors of. the lodge, prince and peasant meet on a common level. Merit, and merit alone, is the passport to its privileges. Distinctions of social rank are abolished. It seeks to ameliorate the condition of the humble and lowly. It impresses upon the mighty the diity and obligation of the brotherhood of man. It fosters liberty and justice. It demands virtue, respect, and honourable conduct from its. votaries." ' That speech, and tlie knowledge that were there but a tincture of insincerity in it the speaker would not have been chosen for the great honour he holds, sets one dreaming of a world where all men will be Freemasons, and each true to the traditions. One phrase stands out above all others: "Disciplined equanimity." The State may work steadily towards the ideals of equality of opportunity and reward; but it can do little until its members have "disciplined equanimity.'' That, added to faith in one's fellowmen as well as in the Great Architect, with the virtues of charity and loving kindness, will make the perfect State as well as the perfect Lodge.