I . W. GRAND LOlMiK ^licitnt, /ice, Mb ^cttptei SElasons, A i/ro \

There king a sufficient number of Lodges representt tte,
\[. \\. • !'••• i. for the happiness and prosperity of our time honored
and glorious institu'i.in. Allow me to congratulate you upon the happy
auspiees under which you ha?e assembled, and the blessings that hare been
. . . i -\ i: , p. •-•oiuiily. politically, and Jlasonically, during tho
. : !i.!V been .-pared. and health and liappine.-S
have been bountifully meeted out to us, our families and friends. At no
r*riol in the history of "our country have we enjoyed such unexampled prosperity
as IOW—being at peace with all the world—free from that dreadful
scourge whieh swept over our land, for the past few years, as with a besom
of destruction—every branch and department of business prospering—and
our common country advancing in all the elements of national greatness
and prosperity, at a rate unprecedented in the annals of the world. Our
i!ly, is but emblematical of our career Masonically. In
• "' .- f i.n :.n r«. I land, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from
I i i .• ! aad regions of tho North to the sunny South, is heard the tonnd
at the o*t>r/, in UM hands of the true and trusty workmen, in whose fidelity
Our noble institution is fulfilling her heaven-born mission—in feeding tho
hungry and clothing the naked—in ministering to the sick and the afflicted
—!• condoling with the widow and the orphan in their bereavement, and
bestowing that aid and assistance which their necessities may require—in
elevating the morals and refining the minds of its votnries. by making them
better eitiiens, kinder husbands, more affictionate fathers, truer friends, and
•Masderated christians. We have now arrived at a period in our histo.y,
aad have so f»r advanced in popularity and respectability, that the tongue
of slander and reproach has ceased to pour out its bitter venom upon our in-
Faasai «»» aa oar devoted heads, have passed away, and in their stead all is
qa*t and peace. And alt'.ieejgh the mad and reckless tornado which,
twenty-five ;«m since, burst with such unabattd fury on our peaceful in-