f i*m*LHfli*? % i HEPOB.T OP THE TRUSTEES. AND THE flip IB IS (DEE ©W 8. mi* m©wm£©H9 esq., ON THE SUBJECT OF THE MASONIC SEMINARY. Grand Lodge of North Carolina, Ealeigh, Dec, 7, 1848. Bro. J. M. Lovejoy, on behalf of the Trustees of the Masonic Seminary, presented the following report, which was read and adopted ; and, on motion, ordered that two thousand copies thereof, accompanied with the remarks of- Bro. Lovejoy and the plan heretofore adopted for raising funds, be printed in pamphlet form for distribution among the subordinate Lodges: The Trustees of the Grand Lodge, and the Subordinate Lodges, upon whom devolves the transaction of any busi- ness, in regard to a Seminary of Learning, have had a meeting-, and beg leave to report. The following sums have been raised by subscription and appropriation, viz Hiram Lodge, Wake Forest Lodge, Cten dollars paid), < Concord Lodge, (fifty paid), ... 1 Greensboro' Lodge, (twenty paid), ' Pittsboro' Lodge, - - ' - Bellemont Lodge, (forty paid) - "Wentworth Lodge, Fellowship Lodge, $1000 260 150 100 200 200 75 50 77 200 10 Grand Lodge, (half the funds on hand), St. John's Lodge, Brother Gott, (ten dollars paid), - Whole amount, $2322 The Trustees are obliged to state, that many of the Lodges have not acted with that promptness and decision, which the subject requires. Yet they think that it proceeds, not from the want of a proper spirit of liberality, but from inability in some, while others have not given this great un- dertaking that strict and candid examination, which its im- portance demands. Doubtless our brethren throughout the State, use their best exertions to confer the benefits of in- struction upon the destitute of our order, who live within the jurisdiction of their Lodges. Rut still there are many, and ever must be, whom their efforts cannot reach. And they must grow upas others have done before them, depri- ved of intellectual and moral culture, and bend their necks to the galling yoke of poverty and ignorance. This hono- rable body has decided, that an institution ought to be es- tablished, which shall bestow a sound and practical educa- tion upon all our destitute and unfortunate children which shall take them by the hand and lead them up to the pleasant places of wisdom, of morality and religion. — We believe that this body should still move onward in the pursuit of its great and iinportant purpose. We recom- mend that it take some action to inform the different Lodges that their money will be refunded if this seminary is not es- tablished. We further urgently recommend, that some suit- able person be appointed, to travel through the State, and bring this subject to the heart of every Mason. And that he obtain subscriptions and sell scholarships, until the sum at least of ten thousand dollars be raised. Your Trustees believe this sum can be easily raised, especially, if Masons will consider, they are giving nothing away, but are buil- ding up a house of refuge, for their children, in the storms of adversity — an institution, which shall spread its wings over the Fraternity, when we are gone, and cause it to stand forth, a noble and beautiful structure, to the eye of the world — an institution, from which shall diverge the splen- dor of our order, attracting the eye of intelligence, from eve- ry part of the country — a house, in which the destitute shall be comforted, and receive consolation and instruction — an institution, to which Masons can point with a just pride, and feel cheered in having done their duty — an institution, where the spirit of our order shall preside, and who shall show us something, whun we meet her there, besides our forms and ceremonies — who shall show us the work she has done, and point us to the mind trained to virtue, and fitted for an immor- tal destiny — who shall stretch forth her hand, and draw to her- self that poor boy, who is now toiling to gain a scanty subsist- 3 cnce, and whose young arm and feeble efforts are all that are left to cheer the desolate heart of his widowed mother — both, .both of whorr, we have most solemnly declared to support and cherish. Look at that family: that woman's husband was our brother. She too is our sister; and that poor boy, crushed by adversity and ignorance, is our son. The arm which sup- ported that family has failed, and the stout heart which put itself between them and the world is cold. Their /ew ef- fects have been sold to saiisfy the demands of creditors and the law. Comfort and cherfulness, which were wont to be there, are gone, and in their place are want and hunger.— And that poor boy is doomed to toil on — to toil on — forever, with no cheerful prospects before him, the darkness of whose mind can build up no brilliant hopes for the future. — This is not fancy; it is truth. We know that the substance of a man is often wasted at his death, either for want of proper management, or from the swift tricks of knavery and deceit. That his house and his estate go into the hands of another; that his children are driven forth and cast upon the charity of an indifferent world, while the hearth, where they leceived the advice and counsel of parents, and their benediction at death, can gather them together no more. — But such will this institution gather together, and educate, and send forth, to benefit the world; to become useful men — useful to themselves, useful to society, and useful to our order. It is the business of men, in their generation, to prepare the young to succeed them. Every act in life, in a worldly point ot view, amounts to this and nothing more. Laws, commerce, agriculture, institutions of learning, and every kind of employment, in which men are engaged, all are directed to this one, great end— the promotion of the in- terest and welfare ot the next generation. Suppose the question is put to a father, why he subjects himself to so much toil and anxiety, to accumulate a little property? lie immediately answers, to educate and support my children, when I am gone. But suppose he is told, that by paying an annual sum to a certain institution, the education of his children shall be secured, whatever may happen and howev- er soon he may die ; what does he say? Does he say I shall not do this? No ! He says no such thing. But he says, tell me the terms of your institution, tor if I can save the sum required, after the wants of my family are supplied, I will close with her. Now the seminary, which we wish to establish, makes, to every one of us, this very proposition. Shall we close the bargain? If we do, she surely will not disappoint us. But, we think, that the honor of belonging to an order like ours, should induce every one to do his du- ty : the greatest, most venerable, and the most noble in* stitution, that has ever been established by man : the greatest, because it has been supported by the wisdom of the world and the greatest men of all ages : the most venera- ble, because it has existed from time immemorial : and the most noble, because it has conferred more good upon man- kind, than any institution of a like nature. Truth and jus- tice are attributes of Deity. On these are our order found- ed. Consequently, it always must receive, always has re- ceived the protection of Providence. For how could this institution have remained so long unimpaired, still moving on, still exerting its influeuce upon the world, if it had not been protected by Heaven? While other institutions, gov- ernments, and great empires have arisen, flourished and pas- sed away, this still stands firm. Time has not put his fin- der upon it, nor made one rent in its fair structure. If this order is not founded upon truth and right, it is founded upon wrong and evil principles. But if evil is its founda- tion, it would have long ago destroyed it; for the very es- sence of evil is its tendency to destroy. It seeks, it loves, it will do, nothing else; its very definition is destruction. On the other hand, truth, and justice, and right seek to build up, to harmonise tmd beautify the world. And this is what the spirit of Masonry does. How does she do this? By super- intending the woik; by infusing herself into the hearts of her children, and pointing the way to virtue and excellence, in whatever is worthy of the esteem and admiration of man. And shall we leave her alone and unassisted in her beauti- ful temple, and give ourselves to idleness and iwdifference? She stands before us, the representative of ages, and talks to us of «the good she has done: Of the millions ot hearts she has made glad — of her doings in civilizing the world — of her resistance to tyranny — of the benevolent in- stitutions she has founded; and how she presided in the courts of Chivalry and sent forth her sons to rescue those crushed down by the heel of lawlessness and op- pression. Brethren, you know, as well as we who address you the necessity and utility of this Seminary. You know that yon are able to do much, and have done nothing. You know, that this institution, if founded, will become a secure and powerful protector to your children, when you, who may now be full of life and health and hope, shall be as no- thing. Brethren ! must we found this Seminary or must we fail? an institution which shall become the glory of our order and pay us an hundred fold ; which sjjall send forth its voice toother States, and tell them that we are at length a- roused to a sense of the deep responsibilities which devolve upon u*! Brethren, shall we found this Seminary, that Char- ity, as she passes on her way to the North, to the South, to' the East and the West, to visit institutions of benevolence m other States, may take note of our doings also, and leave us her blessing, as she ascends to heaven, to hand in our deeds to be recorded with those of the wise and good, and to be sealed up to the great day of God? And when she stands by the side of that terrible angel> who shall break those seals, and holds her finger to the spot where our acts of benovolence are written, think ye not — think ye not — that her plea will be strong and mighty in behalf of erring humanity? IF, SPEIGHT. WILLIAM GOTT. €• W. D. HUTCHINGS, W. H. MEAD, J. F. RHODES, J. M.LOVE JOY, W. F COLLINS, WM. G. HILL, 'Trustees ^"present. SPEECH OF J. M. LOVEJOY. The foregoing report having been read, Bro. LOVEJOY said — This subject has been discussed tor years, and able men have given it their talents, their time, and their anxious con- sideration. Consequently, I expect not to enlighten this body, in regard to the utility of this institution, or the im- portance of education. But lest I should seem to have giv- en myself to idleness, because acting with many, or to en- tertain the idea that numbers lessen the weight of individual responsibility, I am determined, for once, to forget the re- luctance which forbids me to speak in public, and seize this subject with my whole soul. Numbers diminish not the weight of individual responsibility: the laws of nature and of matt refute the idea. Nature has no such page in her hook: the leaves, the flowers, the insects, the birds and the very rocks, which hold the earth together, declare it false. When ihe ant turns sluggard and basks itself in the sun, and when the bee ceases to labour, because there are many; when the leaf hushes its whispers, because the forest is singing to the evening breeze; and the rocks fly from their places and tear the earth asunder; when the evening star goes back into the chambers of night, because millions are rolling round the throne of the Eternal; when the planets dash off from their orbits and leave the sun solitary in the midst of heaven; then, and not till then, will natnre teach this lesson. When shall we act with energy? shall we svait six months, a year, or two years? shall we wait until those we wish to benefit have passed the age of instruction, and the stern majesty of the world bids them take their pla- ces among the ranks of men? Bright and lovely are the paths of youth, when education opens its storehouse of knowledge before them, and nature pours into the mind her floods ot light. But hard, hard, is the lot of the uneducated, and desolate the road which they travel : it leads through pleasant landscapes, and flowery fields, but they see not, hear not, know not of the surpass- ing beauty which surrounds them. The temple of Science shines afar, but Ignorance, like the dragon of the Hesperides ? crouches before them, and forbids their entrance. Among the multitudes who are journeying in isruorance to oblivion, there are minds, many minds, which, if favored by a differ- ent destiny, would shine like the sun of the morning through all coming time. Take from thence that boy with the flash- ing eye and the lofty brow, but whose cheek is paled by adversity, as if blasted by the lightning in its fall from heav- en : Take him, lead him up to the temple of Science, and educate him there. Let him sit at the feet of Wisdom, while she pours into his mind the soul of eloquence, poetry and philosophy, and ihe lore of ancient men. Does he sit in his place listless and gaping while she speaks of the wonders of nature, and the grand conceptions which formed them? He catches every sound, his ear drinks in every word, and his mind expands like the flower, at the touch of th-3 morn- ing sun beam. He grows gr«at by intelligence, and strong for action. You see no more the lonely boy: he converses with nature, and worlds are his companions. He looks out npon the Universe, and \o, how changed ! the gloom which hung over the landscape is gone. It appears no more a dreary wilderness, but the garden of the Almighty. Every leaf, bud and flower, glow with the spirit of the Creator. — The air, the earth, the floods, sing and talk to him of God. He hears his voice in the breeze and in the storm.- The morning, the noon, the evening, darkness and night 7 s flam- ing vault open to him sources of infinite thought, of won- der, of awe and admiration. He goes into the world, with its disguise and malice and deep intrigue; he meets it with a son! of truth braced to virtue and patriotism. N> more will it push him down the pale paths of poverty and ignor- ance; he looks the giant in the face, puts the hand Upon his shoulder and bids him move at his will. He is the ruler of men and the controller of the destinies of his nation. Does he find her in desolation, oppressed by foes and torn by fac- tion? He collects her scattered children and fe&ds them forth to victory. He throws himself into the storms of rev- olution: the angry sea is stilled and the waves roll back to their resting place. He hushes the clamor of raging tongues, and quenches the fires of tempestuous passion,- blown into fury by destruction's wing! This is no picture of the imag- ination :' Such men have been, are and will be. I have drawn an image, which, in most respects, resembles the great statesman of this age, whose star is M the West and shall shine there forever. Consult the pages of history, and it will tell yon with a stern, impartial tongue, that the ben- efactors of the world have been born among those whose homes are far, far away from the comforts, the luxuries and magnificence of wealth. Look upon the map of ancient times, and cast your eye upon the spot where flourished the Republic of Greece. — - How beautiful and bright she stands among the savage states which surround her! She walked, the queen of nations, and her glory is like the light of the morning, when she shakes her kirtle npon the heavens and strews her pathway with jewels. Who toiled at the task of raising her to greatness, of establishing liberty, diffusing national prosperity, and bringing the arts to such perfection that the authors of those deeds appear vastly superior to the gods which their imag- inations created and endued with superhuman agencies? — Did wealth and grandeur do these things? Did Princes wring from the brains of majesty those wonderful produc- 8 tions which have astonished the world? What care they for such idle dreams? They love the flash ot the diadem, the iron rule, the splendor of gold, and the pomp of power. Will this body adjourn, without maturing any plan for founding this Seminary? Will it throw this business for- ward into the future, without any form or shape, as an idle speculation, and a visionary dream, to be taken up and dis- cussed when time and circumstances afford a favorable op- portunity? Nothing is gained by procrastination. Has it profited you anything? A proposition so simple does not require years for discussion, no deeply laid, no far reaching understanding to establish its truth. Masons perfectly agree in regard to the necessitv'and utility of this seminary; hence, no time is required to hush opposition and conciliate fac- tions. It is unwise to consult time when we have an im- mediate duty to perform. Time mocks the sluggard, and laughs at his drowsy dreams. Time ! What time has man? The past is eternity's, the present may be man's, but the morrow is God's. Time cares not to consult with, man. He has work of his own, and is busy with both hands. See how his savage scythe gathers the swathes of life, and launches ihem backward into the abyss. Time consults only with Death, as he brings the nations to his footstool and hurries the universe to eternity. While he gives coun- sel he kills. Who darees step by the side of Time and whis- per in his ear a matter of business, lest he slay the intruder be- fore the advice is given? Time stops not to talk and parley with man. Will you pursue him, seize him by the button hole, and bid him listen to your plans? He is swift of foot, and he walks the future with a rapid gate. Ye measure his steps by the dial's points, and think to catch him at the beat of second?, but the leaps of the lightning and the speed of thought are the only things which measure time. It may be said that the destitute of our order are educated. But how, I ask? Are they educated as a Mason, who has the means, wishes to educate and does educate his own children? They are, perhaps, sent to school one year, two months another year, three another, two again, and thus ends their instruction. No child ever was or can be thus educated. I consider education to be that discipline of the moral and intellectual faculties which fits an individual to discharge any duty which society imposes upon its mem- bers. Doubtless this fraternity has some children growing up in perfect ignorance, without even a knowledge of the ]3ible. May the Father of mercies save and protect the poor ingnorant children in the desert which stretches before! Has it come to this? shall it be said that theMasons of North Carolina will suffer any child who has claims upon them to grow up without a knowledge of the Bible? The Bible! What is the Bible? The voice of God, the philosophy of creation, the fountain of all wisdom, the source of all good; the pivot on which swings the needle of hope, that points the earth-born heavenward; the wing of the imagination, which lifts it up with great thoughts like the pinions of a strong eagle; the mine from which are wrought the gems that twinkle on the brow of immortal Poesy; thebold, bright truth which the naked soul seizes and invests itself, as with the garment, of an angel; a diamond cut out from the throne of God, and placed upon the front of a dark world, to light its wayward steps to eternity. I have been often asked the question, "what will the poor of our order do if educated when they become men''? What will they do, if uneducated, when they become men? But the uneducated never become men; the ignorant are always children — children are they in respect of the works of God and the creations of mind. But what do the educated poor? They do all that is done. They become great lawyers, great architects, great painters, great mechanics, great states- men, great poets, great pnilosophers, aye great in every thing. Poverty tells her children, when educated, they are rich. — She still stands before them in her rags, but her eye is full ot energy and fire. Her arm is still gaunt, but has the strength of a Titan's to rend the barriers which impede the course of her sons to fame and power. She is no longer like an agel of death, cold and shivering as the North wind, but is rather a good spirit, and teaches her children a thou- sand things. She points them to the wealth and treasure of the world, and bids them reach forth the hand and take it. Poverty, when her ehildren are educated, shows them many things. She learns them how to cut mountains into beau- tiful columns and to fashion the rude rocks into magnificent temples, that they may tell the grandeur of nations to dis- tant times. She has shown them how to pen up tire and waterin ribs of steel, which speed the commerce of States over the globe, and how to take hold of lightning, and chain our thoughts to his car. Poverty teaches her educa- ted children many things. She points them bacfc through 10 pre-existent time, and shows them the mighty men and demigods of old; that they were poor, yet nevertheless formed savage hordes into civilized and gigantic Stales, became the lords of song, ot eloquence and philosophy, and thus won their way to immortality. Siie points them to thegreatmen of modern date, to Shakespear, Nopoleon, Milton and Washington, the four giants of thought and action, who have written their names in letters of fire upon the black wing of time; and says that they were poor. She shows them Washington, traversing forests and wading through swamps, a surveyor of land in his early manhood. But she shows hirn in a different picture, struggling with that mon- ster and terrible thing, called a tyrant, wrenching his hand from the throat of Liberty and placing his broad, brave bo- som between her and her tormentor; lifting up a State which had fallen, wasted and bleeding, and placing her feet upon a foundation so strong and deep that she has grownup the glo- ry and wonder of the world. But I have not time to tell all the educated poor have done and can do, They teach all our schools, fill all our colleges with professors, and our churches with the ministers o( God. They build allourtowns and villages, all our vessels of commerce, and navies of war. But what does Wealth ? Nothing, nothing at all; she stands with her arms folded upon her bosom, tricked out in her jewelry and golden petticoats, and looks on to see Poverty work. But she pours into the lap of Poverty her gold, sur- renders her possessions, gives up her houses and her lands and her golden petticoats also. How does Poverty serve her uneducated children? She stands before them, stern and terrible, she will give them no "did, no comfort, no cheer. — She pushes them into every hole and every ditch : she plucks their rags, and tells them that the North wind is stormy and fierce, and cold, and that no body cares. She talks to them all day of want, ot hunger and famine, and haunts their pillow at night; she tells them of grog shops, of rum and of crime, and makes them believe that the very Devil is their best friend. Thus talks Poverty in two ways. Thus talks Poverty with her double face and Janus mouths, and she tells you educate your children, and I will lift them up to fame, and power, and distinction. But leave them uneducated, and I will crush them and crowd them down to ruin. It is essentially necessary that republics should be intel- ligent. For if oppression makes republics, ignorance makes 11 monarchies. An ignorant republic is an uncaged tiger, and falls into the pit which ambition digs. An oppressed na- tion is the tiger caged, which having learned its strength, rends the bolts and tears its master. An ignorant people will support no government, whatever be its character. An intelligent nation never were enslaved, nor can they be, and will submit to any just and equitable government, rather than endure the torments of anarchy and misrule. The multitudes of Europe were never intelligent; consequently they have been oppressed and enslaved for centuries. Ku- lers have weilded the sceptre of cruelty, despised the people, neglected their education, and driven them forth hungry and naked. Oh how the poor miserable multitude have suffered! What have they endured ? What have they not endured? what wrongs, what poverty, what ignorauce, what tyranny, what horrid despotism? Loaded with taxes, starvingfor bread, freez* ing from cold, goaded and tormented by that Promethiau vul- ture the rapacity of the law, they are driven to fury, shiv- ering with rage, drunk with passion, and mad with grief. But they have learned their strength; and the vengeance of ages rises up like night, and covers the land with darkness. Rebelion lifts its head, War mounts his iron charriot, the nations go forth to battle, the thrones of Europe are shaken, — and the proud old monarchies which sit in the shadow of ages are tottering, leaning, rushing headlong. The cries of suffering hare ascended to heaven, and the Almighty hath sent forth the Angel, to pour out the vials of his anger, to smite, and to kill, until Justice and Equity sit in their places and the nations are ruled in righteousness. Thus the gov- ernors of the world are punished when they neglect the de- crees of Providence, and steel their hearts to mercy: And the very instruments upon which they rest for security turn to darts and daggers, to pierce and destroy them. For Heav- en and Earth have sworn, that if a ruler rests the stability of his government upon the stupidity, and ignorance of the people, and forms a breast-plate of defence irom such mate- rial, it shall grow into a robe of fire, and like the fabled cloak of Dejanira, wrap itself around, adhere and burn, un- til it destroys the monster who wears it. How awful is the vengeance of nations, and how bitter the vials of popular fury, when poured upon the head of kings! Ye monart hs, ye haughty despots and gloomy tyrants ! ye have rode the world in war's thunder march, and buckled 12 the nations to the car of tyranny and th 2 yoke of ignorance*,, but the vice, and crime, and stupidity, which ye planted, covered with the ashes of cities, and watered with the blood of men. spring up the teeth of lions, and the fangs of ser- pents, which sting your hearts, and rend your vitals. Ye monarchs and rulers of men 1 how lonely sits the soul in its house of clay, where ye have locked out the light of heaven, and left it by itself in desolation and darkness, to listen to the wants and cries of the body, the taunts of pride, and the scorn of power! and thus in darkness and in chains, ye think to bridle it with the bit of horses, and lash it to subjection with whips of scoipions. But the angry soul will not be briddled; in its enraged energies, it becomes a fiend, the destroyerand avenger, the Medea of the myth and the fable, the rider of the charriot with the winged dragons, over burn- ing palaces and ruined thrones. Such were they who deso- lated revolutionary France, wrung her bosom, tore out her heart, and threw it bleeding to the earth. But let me not speak of the French revolution. Who can picture it? Who can describe the horrors of that day. when "France got drunk with blood to vomit crime"? Does the poet think he can do it, because he dips his pen in the sun beam, and writes with the point of a diamond, because he can seize up- on the arts and subtleties of language, and bid his imagina- tion summon shapes from Hell? Such monstrous facts rise from the earth, as scare the imagination and legions of dark- ness, and the man of fancy is all earth again. The historian sits down, and writes of the shock of armies, the rag« of battle, of cities, steeped in crime, and red with blood; of the assassin, in the bed-ehamber of mothers at mid- night, of the knife, the plunge and the hush of death : And then, as if wearied with the details of desolation and cruelty, he cries, who can pnint the horrors of that day, wnen lust, revenge, hatred, ambition and all the savage passions, which haunt the breast, swarmed from the heart and assumed the sh?ipe of monsters, which struck down the people, with the poinard and battle axe, until the war god ol modern Europe put the bit of destiny in the jaws of France, and turned her tremendous energies against the world? From whence, will lenrn the rulers of m°n, that ignorance and tyranny invignnte, ruin and annihilate nations? Let the past speak to the present. Come forth ye extinct nations, and tell to the present, the cnuse of your ruin! Come forth, ye old empires of Asia, from the hover of oblivion's wing, and swear 13 to the rulers of men; swear by the silence of the desert, where ye once flourisned, that the eye of the owl glistens where stood the throne --and blazed the diadem; and the hyena chafes his shoulder upon the column where leaned the queens of monarchs, because princes swayed the sceptre of sin, and hampered the people with oppression and ignor- ance, so that ye were swept away, by the tide of invasion, like dust before the whirlwind. Savage nations cannot be enslaved, because their habitations change like the sands of Africa. They say to tyrants erect your throne and post your janizaries upon the spot where smoke the ashes of our last night's encampment. Our possessions are in the strength of the war horse, the speed of the arrow, the winds are our companions, and the desert our home. Prudence, caution, endurance and power in battle, are the qualities which give distinction; and Nature tells them, if they culti- vate these, they obey the laws, which she imposes upon their condition in life, and shall live free and independent in the wilderness which she has made their dwelling place, Civilized nations inhabit countries with fixed boundaries. — If the people are intelligent, they strangle tyranny in the cradle; and say to foreign foes, our school houses are our forts, and our walls the^ hearts of brave men. The arts of education, and the power of intellect, are the qualities which confer destinction : and Nature says to them cultivate these and you obey the laws which I impose upon your condition in life, and shall live independent at home, and respected abroad. The great republic of North America, is the only country on the face of the globe of this kind. But when the few walk in the light of education, and the multitude in darkness, Avarice, Cupidity, and Ambition, sit down «*ith the former, to play the game of life, with poor, blind, erring Ignorance. In this contest education and intellect, and not the strong arm, win the victory. The game goes on, con- tinues for years; Ignorance loses, is stripped of every thing, and goes away and lies down upon her bed of straw, miser- able, exhausled, and naked. Her sons die with hunger, or are seized, and driven away before her face to whet the sword, grind the axe, and forge t£e chains of tyranny, which now spread over the land a gloom heavy and deep — fills it with bayonets and taxes, and gains strength and size, un- til despotism rises up, dark as ever, and cruel as the sea. It grasps the reins of power and keeps them; braces its enor- mous feet, with the boots of battle, holds, in its hand the 14 hungry sword, a"d sports with life and death, like school hoys mowing thistles down. No imagination, however swift in flight or collected in energy, can draw a picture, which shall show upon the canvass all the atrocious features of despotism. The governments of Europe, with but one or two exceptions, are of the above description. And now, af- ter the nations of Europe have suffered so much, and endur- ed .so lonsr, who says they are wrong in their terrific and mighty anger? 1 do not. Nor do 1 say they are right: let God judge the people and their rulers. I only ask, who shall quiet them? Can ye chain the hurricane? or stay the thunderbolt with your hand? and who shall stay the starv- ing, untaught millions in their hour ot yengeancc, when they put on the armour of ruin, and harness the steeds of dt'st ruction ? I wish the nations might gain their freedom, without the effusion of blood. But the price of liberty is blood. And is this wonderful? All excellence is dearly purchased. The soul was bought from sin, -.not by human blood, but by that which flowed from immortal veins. If the rulers ot nun who act the tyrant, will learn in no other manner, let the scourge of experience teach them, that ig- norance and oppression are plants that twine together, em- body and grow the upas, which poisons the people, until struck by the lightning of revolution and anarchy, it burns to cinders, and moulders to ashes, from which soars the ea- gle, the bird of republics, with his bolts of thunder and eye of power. Those who are endeavoring to change the face of society, and to establish civil liberty in Europe, are editors, poets, orators and philosophers. In the first rank are the editors. Many of them have risen from the people, and their hearts and sympathies are with those, with whom they have en- dured wrong, and suffered adversity. Many of them have wrought at the type, and the wheel, and have seen sorrow- ful and bitter days. They unroll their. sheets to the people, and show them the solemn lies, by which they have been cheated, and the foul wrongs which have been done them. They rend the veil, which hides the vast and gloomy des- potisms, and show the defoimity, and wickedness which surround the throne. Their keen intellects are swift to pierce the counsels of mysterious cabinets, and to hunt out tyranny in its most secret places. Philosophers bring their massive intellects, and metaphysical machinery into the field, and weave a web in which tyrants get entangled and 15 are choked to death. Poets send from the prison and the garret their holts also, which "fall in fiery shafts, and are gathered up by the multitude, and hurled at the croWns of kings." I believe that revolution will march onward, until the people roll back the tide of despotism, and the eagJe flag floats on the bulwarks of Europe : For the hearts of greal nations are beginning to beat with the strong bounding blood of Liberty's pulse. They will no longer listen to the voice of kings; and therefore the shocks of the earthquake must continue, for the grasp of the sceptre will only yield to the wrench of armies; nor will the roots of thrones give way but to the strokes of the battle axe, and the crush ot cannon. Oirrown glorious republic ! who can think of its origin and moral influence upon mankind, without emotions of deep, deep, gratitude to him who planted and has watched over it, and raised it so high, that its splendor fills the universe? It shines far away over the waters, into the dark prison house of the East, where the nations work by its light, while filing! the chain, and drawing the bolt; and glows into the win- dows of the palaces uf kings, blinding the eye of tyranny, and blazing with such effulgent brightness, that the light of thrones, and the diamond work of crowns, emit a pale and ghastly glare. While such horrid shapes sta«d out upon the wall, that the hounds of war, who crouch at the feet of ty« rants, and hem them in with steel, aie frightened from their places, and become the first to point the shaft, and wing' the ball, which hiss and whistle through the nests of those hornets, who have despoiled the industrious, and driven them forth to the winter and the storm. Our own great republic ? with its millions of intelligent freemen, its president, and thirty governors, the sun and the stars, which reflect the majesty of the nation and the glory of the States, may it stand forever and the light of its countenance grow brighter and brighter, like an unextiifguisbable fire! And may earth's swarming multitudes join her song of thanksgiving to the King of nations, while the despotisms of Europe and the barbarian monarchies of Asia are the dust of the past, to be stirred but by the rake of the historian, or ransacked by the imagination, "to point a moral, or adorn a tale." 16 'PLAN FOR RAISING SCHOOL FUND. 1. That there be a board of Trustees immediately constituted, for the School, consisting of three to be appointed by the Grand Lodge, and on© to be appointed by each subordinate Lodge under its jurisdiction, who shall hold an annua! meeting at the time and place of the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge. 2. That the subordinate Lodges be authorised and directed, at the earliest day practicable, to meet and appoint their trustees, respectively, by the selec- tion of one member for that purpose, from each of their own bodies. 3. That it shall be the duty of the three Trustees appointed by the Grand Lodge to discharge any duties required of them by the Grand Lodge, or the Board of Trustees, as an Executive School Committee. 7. That the Trustee of each subordinate Lodge shall, under the direction of his Lodge, and in such manner as the Lodge may prescribe, proceed im- mediately. to secuie from the members of his Lodge, or any other individuals disposed to contribute, such voluntary subscriptions as they may be disposed to make for the purpose of establishing the school ; that he shall report the amount of subscriptions to the Lodge, and the cash collected thereon, which shall, whenever it amounts to ten dollars, be forthwith transmitted to the Grand Treasurer at Raleigh. 5. That the subscriptions be made payable as follows: — One fifth cash, and the remainder in four equal annual instalments,, and that notes be taken upon them, conforming thereto, made payable to the Trustees of the Charity School fund of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina ; and that they be kept by the Trustee of each Lodge aforesaid ; and collected, when due, and re. ported to the Lodge as above, or, if not collected, handed over to his succes- sor, or some other person as may be hereafter designated. 6. That each subordinate Lodge be requested to subscribe, at their discre- tion, such amount as they may deem it prudent or proper to spare from the fund of the Lodge for this purpose — to be forwarded, or such amount thereof as they may think proper then to pay, to the Grand Treasurer, at the next Annual Communication; and the remainder, if any, in similar annual in- stalments. 7. That the Grand Lodge make such annual appropriation to this object a* her funds and the other demands upon her resources, will allow. 8. That the Executive Committee, of whom the Grand Treasurer shall be one, shall put the monies, as fast as received, if practicable, in some safe and profitable investment, from which 6 per cent, intetest will be realized. 9. The Trustees _or Executive Committee shall be authorised also to ro- ceive any donations that maybe ma:le by charitable individuals, other than regular subscriptions, and cause them to be likewise invested, by the- some Committee, with the other monies, in Bank Stock, in notes of individuals, on mortgage of real estate and personal security, or in State Bonds. 10. That the Grand Lecturer be required to explain this subject to evey Lodge he may visit, and urge upon them the necessity of liberal contributions on the part of the Lodges and of individual members, in order that the be^ nevolent designs of the Grand Lodge may be speedily and successfully ac- complished. 11. That each subordinate Lodge in the State be requirfd to contribute ac- cording to her ability, and to take such steps and adopt such regulations a* may be necessary to fulfil the duties imposed upon them respectively.