ODDFELLOWSHIP.

Globe, Volume V, Issue 544, 16 March 1876, Page 3

ODDFELLOWSHIP.

Dedication of the New Hall op the City op Norwich Lodge, Lyttelton. The Oddfellows of Lyttelton celebrated the dedication of their new hall in Wincheater street on Tuesday last. The hall was opened on Thursday, March 2nd, and will no doubt prove of great benefit to the town, no less than four friendly societies' lodges having already availed themselves of its erection, by renting it on certain days for lodge purposes. The hall was designed by Mr C. Cuff, of Clristchurch, and though of rather unpromising exterior, is all that could be desired inside. Two ante rooms are placed on each side of the doors, in one of which is a staircase, leading to a gallery that can easily accommodate 100 people. The great hall is 60ft by 30ft (the largest in Lyttelton), and is lighted by two large sunlights, the reflectors of which are ornamented with emblems of the society in gold and purple, At the south end of the hall there is a large dressing room, and under it again it is proposed to have another room. One regrets that the whole of the under portion of the building has not been utilised ; it is now a mass of beams, aud wo hear that the expense of procuring proper supports would be very large and unremunerative.

The City of Norwich Lodge is the father of all the Oddfellows' lodges in Canterbury. Founded by Bro Abrahams, who brought the charter'years ago from England, it has gone on increasing till it now numbers 170 effective members. It is strange that it should be not only the first lodge started but also the first lodge that has gone through the ceremony of a formal dedication in Canterbury. We recommend other lodges to follow the example shown, as the effect is most imposing, and calculated to tend to spread a general knowledge of the benefits to be obtained by becoming a member of the order.

At 7 p.m. on Tuesday night last about one hundred of the members of the lodge assembled at the old hall in the Sumner road, in full regalia, and were marshalled by Brother Jenkins, C.S., of the order, into the following procession—First came the silken banner of the order, then the younger brethren decorated with blue scarves, followed by those in pink, and succeeded by the Tast Grands in ecarlct trappings, the rear being brought up by those wearing the purple degree and by the provincial officers.

The sight was most imposing as the long cavalcade swept along London street and up Dublin 6treet into Winchester street. On reaching the entrance to the new hall those brethren bearing the banner halted, and the others filed into the hall beneath its folds, forming a square. At the northern end of the hall was the Grand Master's chair, occupied by the N.G., Brother Owen, and in the north-east corner the dispensation tablets ; while on the eait side were assembled the dignitaries of the Order, in full regalia. The gallery and lobbies were crowded with spectators. Silence having been proclaimed, the N.G., Brother Owen, took up a position in the centre of the lodge facing the east, the Provincial G.M. taking his station on the east side, and the three Past Grands appointed to act as heralds took up their positions at the three other cardinal points—the first bearing a goblet of pure water, the second a vase of newly-gathered flowers, and the third a small measure of wheat. The N.G. then addressed the G.M, as follows :—Most: worthy Grand Master. The work in which we have been engaged is now completed, and this Temple of Oddfellowship is ready to shelter us within its walls ; but first we desire that you should set it open for our use, and dedicate it to the purposes of justice, benevolence, and charity, according to the rites of our Order. On behalf of my brethren I therefore deliver it into your hands.

The D.G.M. replied: Brethren, I congratulate you for the zeal you have displayed in obtaining this commodious meeting-place which we are about to dedicate to those cardinal virtues which ought to adorn and elevate humanity, and whose names we have selected for the watch-word and motto of our beloved order. Beneath this roof you are to encourage one another in the duties of benevolence and purity ; before the altar erected here the good worki of friend ship, love, and truth are ever to be considered the only acceptable sacrifice, Hence, as from a perennial fountain, is to flow the gentle stream of friendship, to gladden and make green the waste places. In this retreat are to be cultivated those flowers which love unfeigned should scatter on the rugged path of life and beneath many bleeding feet. Here is to be sown the good seed of truth in many hearts, to spring up and yield its hundred-fold harvest. It is, there-

fore, not so much this temple built wth hands that should occupy your attention, as the great principles which are herein to be disseminated, and I hope that our united efforts, with those of our brethren throughout the world, may fit ua for adorning a fitill nobler temple consecrated by the Supreme Master of the Universe, without the invocation of whose blessing no work of man should be undertaken,

The chanlain, Bro P.G. Carell, then read the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st verses of the 2nd Chron., chap vi.

Bros Turner, Gt-.M, and Hillier, D.G.M, then read alternate verses of the 122nd psalm. The first herald, Bro Derbidge, then advanced, bearing the vase of water, and said—- " In the name of friendship, as pure, refreshing, and life-giving as this water (sprinkling it), I dedicate this hall to the practice of that ennobling virtue which, uniting men as brethren, teaches them to sustain that relation at all timps. each in his turn helping and being helped, blessing and being blessed."

The second herald, Brother Sowden, then advanced, bearing flowers, and said—" In the name of love, which, like these flowers (strewing them), fills the common atmos phere with fragrance, and beautifies everything on which it falls, I dedicate this hall to the practice of that highest virtue which is within itself the fulfilling of the law. Ifc teaches us to visit the widow and the fatherless in their affliction, to bind up the brokenhearted and set the oppressed free." The third herald,'Brother Hobbs, then advanced, and scattering wheat around, said —" In the name of truth, which, like the grain sown broadcast on the earth, springs np again ore hundredfold for future use and blepfinpr, I dedicate this hall to the practice of that most ennobling virtue, which lies at the foundation of all others, and which (devoid of all guile and hypocrisy) teaches us sincerity in our communications and earnestness in the inculcation of whatever is good and true." The D.G.M. then declared the dedication complete, and congratulated the lodge on the number of members and the splendid hall they had erected. The Doxolonry having been sung, and grace said by the chaplain, the ceremony concluded.

We are happy to state that the lodge is in a most opn'ent position, there being a balance of £447 to their credit after defraying the expense of the new building.