[The Room will be prepared suitably for the occasion, and officered same as an ordinary Lodge Meeting, excepting the O.G., who can be dispensed with. A stand representing an altar will be erected in the centre of the room, upon which shall rest the Holy Bible, Charter of the Lodge, and a mall space for lighting a fire. The N. G. will have the keys of the Building in his possesion, and on his pedestal a goblet of pure water, a small urn with wax matches, a vase of fresh flowers, and a cup filled with wheat. The Grand Lodge Officers will properly clothe themselves in another apartment, and proceed to the door, which the I.G. will open.—before doing so, the Subordinate Lodge Chaplain will stand up and say the following Prayer.]—

Direct us O Lord, in all our doings, with Thy most precious favor, and further us with Thy continual help, that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in Thee, we may glorify Thy holy name; and finally, by Thy mercy, obtain everlasting life. Amen.

page 4

G. H. The M. W. G. Master and other Officers of the R W. G. Lodge of N. Z., desire to be admitted in the name of Friendship, Love, and Truth, for the purpose of dedicating this Hall to the uses of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, and the diffusion of the principles of Benevolence and Charity.

I. G. Noble Grand, the Grand Lodge Officers are now in waiting to dedicate this Hall to the purposes of Odd-fellowship according to our ancient customs.

N. G. Admit them.

I. G. Enter in the name of Friendship, Love, and Truth.

[Upon entrance of the G. L. Officers, the N.G. will call the meeting up—omitting the honours and signs—when the Opening Ode will be sung, the G. L. Officers will march up the room with the Grand Marshal leading, and the Grand Master in the centre, the Grand Chaplain being at the end opposite the Grand Marshal—will then form, in a line between the Altar and N.G.]

Ode.
Brethren of of our friendly Order,
Honor here asserts her sway,
All within our sacred border
Must her high commands obey,
Join, odd fellowship of brothers,
In the song of Truth of Love;
Leave dispute and strive to others,
We in harmony must move.

Honor to her courts invites us,
Worthy subjects let us prove;
Strong the chain that here unites us,
Link'd with Friendship, Truth, and Love.
In our hearts enshrined and cherished,
May these feelings ever bloom—
Failing not when life has perished,
Living still beyond the tomb.

G. Marshal. Is it the will and pleasure of the M, W. G. Master of N.Z., that the ceremony of dedicating this Hall to Odd-fellowship do now proceed.

page 5

G. Master. Such is my will and pleasure.

N. G. M. W. G. Master, the work in which we have been engaged is now completed, and our temple is at last ready to shelter us within its walls. But we first desire that you should set it apart for its sacred uses, and dedicate it to the purposes of Benevolence and Charity, according to the solemn rites of our Order, and we therefore deliver it into your hands. [Here place the keys of the Building on the pedestal.]

G. Master. Noble Grand, please direct your Officers to surrender their respective positions to the Grand Officers present, and take your seat on our left hand.

N. G. Officers of the—Lodge, you will please vacate your chairs to the Officers of the Grand Lodge.

[The G. Master will take the N. G's chair; D. G. M. will take the V. G's.; G. W., the J. P. G's.; G. Chaplain will sit opposite to G. W. The G. Marshal on the right of G. Master. Four Heralds will be seated in front of the G. Master.]

G. Master. [N. G., or Chairman of Building Committee, as the case may be.] In the name and on behalf of the Independent Order of Odd-fellows of the Colony of New Zealand, I accept for dedication to the uses of Odd-fellowship this Hall, which has been constructed under your supervision. To you and your associates the present must be an occasion especially gratifying. Today you witness the consummation of that for which you have ardently toiled and hoped—to-day you hail the completion of that for which you have zealously and faithfully labored—and to-day you behold the recognition by your brethren from the North, the South, the East, and the West; of this, the result of your efforts, as a temple devoted to the services of those whose vocation it is to visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead, educate the orphan—duties which neither interfere with, nor supersede the discharge of any other—social, moral, or religious.

page 6

Brethren, I congratulate you upon the completion of this beautiful edifice, which we are about to dedicate to those cardinal virtues which should adorn and elevate humanity, and the names of which we have selected as the motto and watchword of our beloved Order. Beneath this roof, you are to encourage one another in the duties of benevolence and charity; before this altar the good works of Friendship, Love and Truth are ever to be presented as the only acceptable sacrifice. From hence, as from a perennial fountain, are to flow the gentle streams of true Friendship; to gladden and make green many waste places. In this quiet retreat are to be cultivated those flowers that Love unfeigned shall scatter on the rugged pathway of life, under 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, therefore, not so much this temple made with hands, that should occupy our attention at present, as the great principles that are here to be disseminated. I hope and trust, brethren, that our united efforts, with those of our brethren throughout the globe, may lead to the raising and adorning of a still nobler Temple, which shall be consecrated by the approval of the Supreme Grand Master of the Universe, without the invocation of whose blessing no work should be undertaken.

G. C. Almighty God, the Maker of all worlds, whom we are taught to approach and call by the tender name, Father, we would humbly draw near and beg Thy blessing on the work in which we are engaged. Whatever is amiss in us, do Thou make right by Thy Divine power, and in all things do Thou overrule our thoughts and deeds to Thy greater glory and the good of our fellowmen. Amen.

The Meeting to be standing.