alone giving utterance to my own sad thoughts, and expressing my own heartfelt sorrow, but it is giving expression to the same united sentiments of a great Brotherhood, whom we in part represent upon this floor.

Well do I remember that dark and gloomy morning in March last, how there came to us, flashing over the wires, the mournful and unexpected announcement, "ORRIN WELCH is dead!" and as brother after brother caught up and re-echoed the sad refrain, there was one wide-spread and spontaneous outburst of sorrow. It came to us with such startling and mournful suddenness, too, for all knew that he had been long ill, but was said to be much better, and all but his more immediate friends had fondly hoped that he was slowly but surely recovering; and now, there was not one, even to the youngest and humblest of the brethren, but that echoed the universal regret, and each seemed to feel as if he, too, had lost a brother and a friend from his own family circle, and a brother of the same mystic tie, near and dear to him. For he belonged to all of us, throughout our State; and now that I have listened to the truthful and beautiful language of the report, coming from the hearts and pens of those beyond our borders, I feel that I cannot claim that he belonged to New York alone.

I shall not attempt,-I do not aim in what I say to fully portray his charac ter, and I have arisen more for the purpose of expressing the satisfaction of my Ill.. brothers from New York, and my own, as a personal friend of the deceased, with the sentiments of the report, than to add my individual expressions. For Ill... ORRIN WELCH was my friend. I may proudly but mournfully add, my warm and intimate friend, from the earliest period of my connection with the Rite, as an officer, through all the exciting period that elapsed prior to the formation of the happy union of 1867. It was in what was then known as the New York Council, that I first knew and appreciated the sterling worth of his character, and one of its strongest and best elements was FIDELITY.

Not alone the blind fidelity of a partisan, but an earnest and unwavering fidelity to his friends, to truth, to duty, to every trust confided to him, and they were many and responsible, involving large personal and pecuniary interests; firm but always conscientious, and incapable of desertion or betrayal, fearless and untiring, always and everywhere independent and reliable. How well and faithfully he discharged his duties as Deputy of this Supreme Council for the District of New York you all know, and yet you do not know, as we do, that it extended to the most minute details, and there is no more marked evidence in his favor than is exhibited in his last, and perhaps, I may say, his best, Annual Address to our Council of Deliberation, held in February last. Confined to a sick bed, he yet arose from it to prepare that document, without which our gathering would have lost its most interesting feature, and it exhibits no traces of feebleness of body or of intellect, but proves to us, how thoroughly he was acquainted with every

detail of official duty in his district, and how deep and abiding was his attachment to the A.. and A.. Rite.

The suggestions of practical wisdom, and the words both of warning and of encouragement which it contains, were made the subject of remark and approbation at the time, by one, whose expressions of approval were highly prized by him, in such manner as naturally found a place in the official Journal of the Council; the speaker little dreaming that his words of cordial approbation could never penetrate the "dull, cold ear of death."

We praise the soldier, who dies bravely and firmly at his post,

'With his back to the field, and his face to the foe;"

and we applaud the sailor, who goes down undauntedly, with his wrecked ship, with his hand clinging to its helm ;

"When winds are hurrying o'er the flood

And waves are white below."

Have we no voice of heartfelt commendation for the yet braver hero, who in the walks of civil or social life, or of moral obligation, adheres with unshrinking courage to duty, and performs it even at the very portals of death? And this leads me to notice another feature in the character of Bro.'. WELCH. I have spoken of his discharge of duty in its moral aspect only; let me point to another feature, which embraces the intellect—I mean his marked EXECUTIVE ABILITY. It is not enough to discharge duty faithfully and fearlessly; it should also be performed intelligently and wisely, and this de. mands powers of mind, and habits of thought, beyond the ordinary gifts of the mass of our fellows. A brain to examine facts and foresee results, and energy and skill in working them out. In these particulars our Brother was remarkably gifted. In the employments of daily life, in the exercise of official public trusts, and as Grand Commander of Knights Templar, of the State of New York, as well as Deputy of this Supreme Council, those characteristics were most efficiently displayed, and he has left behind enduring records of the truth of this assersion. That he was eminently sagacious, prudent and judicious in Council, need not be affirmed. I stand here as a witness, you all are witnesses of the fact, these were displayed as the associate or subordinate of others, but it was in the intuitive faculty of working out a definite plan of action, and then steadily, skillfully and perseveringly putting it into execution in the shortest possible time, that he so highly excelled, and which commanded such universal respect and confidence.

But I sensibly feel that in all these things, I am only repeating to the Supreme Council what they know already, and that it is upon personal traits, perhaps unknown to the many, that in this hour of mourning they would rather fondly and lingeringly dwell. And this reminds me, that I should speak of that which we have all so often felt, and which we still feel even beside his new made grave,—that MAGNETISM of SOCIAL ATTRACTION which

he so fully possessed, and constantly exercised in his frank, genial, and impulsive manner. It was that strange and wondrous faculty of making each of us feel that he was a friend, so naturally shown in the tone of the voice, the gestures of his hands, the glance of the eye, and above all in that ready facil ity of speech, which we all so well recollect, and bring to mind with such melancholy pleasure. He never claimed to possess any gifts as a public speaker, but if there was blunt sincerity in his speech, there was pointed truth and sound sense in it, earnestly and tersely spoken, and if it sometimes, for the moment, sounded harsh or bitter, there was usually a spontaneous gush of humor, or some brilliant flash of wit, which robbed it of every sting, and which carried with it a force that made it most often irresistible.

He was the life and soul of the social circle, the center of attraction in every group of his army of friends, and he clinched those attractions by the open hand, the large feeling heart, the eye and ear of ready sympathy for troubles or sorrows, all of which so win and hold captive the hearts of men. It may be thought, that in recounting these things, I have been seeking with the blinded, partisan eyes of friendship, to depict a perfect man, "That faultless monster, whom the world ne'er saw ;"

but I have aimed in what I have said at the rigid truth, without coloring ; though I might confidently add in, like poetic phrase, that if not faultless, yet "e'en his failings leaned to virtue's side."

To truthfully sketch such a character as that of ORRIN WELCH requires more thoughtful preparation, than could possibly be given in complying with the request of the Ill.. Rev. Bro.. from Michigan; for till it was made, I had not anticipated speaking on the subject. I do not say this by way of apology for anything I have said, but for the imperfect manner of saying it, and for having been constrained to leave so much unsaid, for, in the few points which I have so meagrely touched, I have deeply felt the emptiness of words, and my own want of the ready command of fitting phrases to give expression to what we all feel; and I am not insensible of the fact that I am fearfully encroaching upon the time of others, who desire to pay their tribute to his character and memory-his worth and virtues. We can only award to them our sorrowful utterances, and the frail and perishable memorial spread upon our records. This Supreme Council, since its present organization has frequently been called to mourn for those of its membership who have departed forever, and the simple but solemn and touching Ceremonial of last year, when to the slow roll call, there came back the sepul chral response spoken by many, but blended as one solemn voice, the awe-inspiring word "Dead!" as if all of life-history were centred in its meaning, and it reminded us how often our ranks are invaded by death. We have sorrowed most often for the aged veterans, who having well and faithfully lived out their lives of trust and honor, have wearily laid by their implements of labor as if gladly hailing the rest and repose of the tomb; and we look around us with the solemn and startling thought that we are here, meeting

But we are more

sounded for those

some of our beloved brethren for the last time on earth. aroused and startled, when the mournful death-knell is who in the vigor of manhood and maturity of intellect, unscarred by the scythe of time, as in the present instance, are suddenly cut off, and, while we indulge a manly and unfeigned sorrow, there comes to us the consoling reflection that the record of our brother, if brief, as measured by years, was yet brilliant; and that long, long after the customary badges of mourning for a little season are laid aside, there will yet be mourning hearts cherishing the honored memory of ORRIN WELCH throughout our Jurisdiction. But nowhere will that grief be so widely shared, so quietly yet keenly felt, as by the Fraternity of his own native State, where his ashes repose, who loved him so much; and whom he loved and served so long and so well, and in the promotion of whose interests and welfare he spent so many years of profitable labor, and to whom he devoted the well-spent energies of a brilliant and glorious Masonic life, unshaded by a single cloud. They will ever rank him on their bright roll of fame as one of the best loved, and most honored in their proud array of Masonic Chiefs!

The report was then unanimously adopted by a rising vote.

On motion of ILL.. F. A. BLADES, it was ordered that a Memorial page on the death of ILL.. JOHN ROBIN MCDANIEL, of the Supreme Council for the Southern Jurisdiction, be placed upon our records and published with Proceedings of this Session.

The M.. P.. Sov.. Gr.. Commander announced the following appointments to fill vacancies in Standing Committees :

On Constitution and Laws :

In place of Ill.. ORRIN WELCH, deceased, Ill.. GEORGE W. DEERING of Maine.

In place of Ill.. THOS. A. DOYLE, absent, Ill.. JOHN H. GEORGE of N. H.

In place of Ill.. BENJAMIN DEAN, absent, Ill.. ANTHONY E. STOCKER of Pa.

On Councils of Deliberation and Reports of Deputies:

In place of Ill.. THOS R. AUSTIN, absent, Ill.. JOHN L. LEWIS of N. Y.

In place of Ill.. WM. PARKMAN, absent, Ill.. JOHN CAVEN of Ind.

In place of Ill.. AARON KING, absent, Ill... CHRISTIAN F. KNAPP, of Pa.

On motion of Ill.. WALTER A. STEVENS, the General Session was called off, and the Council went into Executive Session.

EXECUTIVE SESSION.

SEPTEMBER 18TH, 1878, 12 M. Records of Wednesday's Executive Session, were read and approved.

Ill.. ANTHONY E. STOCKER, of Pa., presented the name Prince CHARLES WM. BATCHELOR, of Pittsburgh, Pa., for the ჭვი.

Ill... WALTER A. STEVENS, on behalf of the Active Members of Illinois, nominated :

Princes JAMES B. BRADWELL, of Chicago.

66

LOOMIS A. BULLOCK, of Chicago.

Ill.. D. BURNHAM TRACY, submitted the following Petition, which was referred to the Committee on Jurisprudence.

MILWAUKEE, WIS., SEPT. 18, 1878.

TO THE M... P... Sov.. GR.. COMMANDER,

And Sov. Gr.. Inspectors General of the Supreme Council 33°, for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States.

Your petitioner, being an Honorary Member of your Supreme Council since its union, and Deputy for the State of Michigan, under the Raymond joint body, and Thirty-third since May, 1862, having worked with zeal and assiduity for the Rite for seventeen years, ending Thursday evening, the 19th instant, now begs that your Honorable and Illustrious Body grant him the honor of Emeritus Membership, he being fully entitled to it at the union of the Supreme Councils in 1867. But not being present, was overlooked in the distribution of the honors on its members, and if your Illustrious Body grants the prayer of the petitioner, he will ever as he has done, try to be worthy of the trust placed in him.

JOHN D. JENNINGS, 33°.

The M.. P... Sov.. Gr.. Commander announced that the term