The Barnato Lodge.

but it appears the cap fits ; he has worn it , and ho does not appear comfortable after what has been done .

Masonic Freedom.

MASONIC FREEDOM .

An Extract from an Address he / ore Hope Lodge , of Minnesota , by Bro . Rev . Wynne Jones , and published in " The Master Mason . " THE true conception of Masonry is a grand and sublime one . It is at once an inductive and a deductive

philosophy of man as a social being . As a man is free so is Masonry—free . But true freedom is circumscribed by duties . Tbe freedom of the individual man or organisation implies the freedom of other men and organisations , and is

incompatible with conflict ; hence , the local Lodge prescribes the limit of tbe freedom of the individual , and tho Grand Lodge defines tho liberty of the off-shoot . These governmental prescriptions recognise the individual as a part of a

large whole . They aim at the harmony of symphony"To see that none go away dissatisfied , harmony being the strength and support of all organisations , more especially of ours . "

The most virtuous and philosophic limitation of human conduct , is a positive prescription of duties . A law which forbids without defining a duty is of no benefit to any one but imbeciles and criminals in whom the last vestige of humanity is obliterated by abasement .

Freedom does not imply unlimited power on the part of the individual . My freedom is as sacred as yours , and yours as mine . Yon have no right to curtail my liberty , nor I yours . If my lust and avarice crave wealth , it is not

mv privilege to wrong yon by base advantage of my superiority of power , if , perchance , my wealth admits of my curtailing your ability by heavily mortgaging your property , or otherwise plun ^ ine you into difficulties from which yon

cannot extricate vourself . Such a principle of action wonlrl not pxerc ' se itself in " seeing that none go away dissatisfied , " find would be very distantly removed from the pro

duction of harmony . Unbridled exercise of p uver is n strong mark of slavery—slavery to a principle of avarice and lust .

The great , Napoleon , of warlike fame , was as great a slave to his ambition in the exercise of his power and peculiarly skilful military tactics as the lone negrn weighed down by the chains of his bondage in a central African jungle .

Unbridled ambition is the offspring of selfishness , and selfishness , with its attendant evils , is as inconsistent with Freemasonry as hatred is to love , darkness to light . The contrast is invidious . Ideal freedom and harmony are

almost synonymous . All tbe sublime precepts of this Institution of ours are based upon the positive and acknowledged facts of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood

of Man . Gnd , the Grand Architect and Master Mason , and each individual component part in the association of Masons nnitedly work out the designs of the ultimate conception of his mind in the consummation of all things . Each man

has his individual work to do , and he must not , encroach on the domain of his fellow Craftsman or the edifice must lack beauty and symmetry , and be insecure . Masonry recognises man as a moral and responsible being ,

endowed with all the possibilities of progression . But morality implies free will and choice , hence also the possibility of retrogression . Nor is an active being and

permanency of condition possible . He must act either in the line of duty , progress and ennoblement of character , or in sad deterioration of those characteristics which make him

the lord of the creation of an invisible God . There is nothing stationary in this vastly complex universe . Every created atom and molecule in restless procession advances in one vast phalanx towards the realisation of the

inscrutable conception of a Master mind , the Grand Master Mason of mind and matter . We observe the progression of matter in the growth of plants , animals , and the stature of man , the formation of rocks , coal and gems , and the development of low animal life to a higher state of life and

instinct . Yet the material creation is only the expression of the spiritual and invisible . The existence of the outward and tangible is conditional and limited by time , they

flourish and die . Shall man alone with his keen insi ght into the laws of cause and effect be a dwarf incapable of further growth amidst the development of creation r Shall his servant , matter , which everywhere is subservient

Masonic Freedom.

to his will , grow while his growth is stunted by tho perversity of his inclinations ? Shall she which he tramples under his foot , with which he builds his house , clothes his body , allays his hunger , " teach man knowledge ? " While

she advances in tho growth of development shall man alone retrograde in the backward path of declination from virtue to vice ? Should such be tbe contemptuous ambition of any one , by tho very desire of his heart he has outlawed

himself from the benefit of any society or organisation which lias for its object tho mora ! elevation of man , for b y the terras of our obligation we ai'O bound to support only worthy brother Masons .

Methinks it is one of the gross evils of the day for men to fly into the precincts of noble institutions to hide their sins and crimes . One man clothes himself in tho unsullied garb of the Prince of Peace to serve the devil .

He hopes by outside appearance to hide the guilt of his soul , but the contrast between the immaculate livery he wears and his own inconsistent conduct brings upon him

the just contempt of less assuming men ( for by common consent all detest inconsistency ) , and with derision they point at him the finger of scorn and call him a hypvocrite . Another onters in the fraternal courts of Froemasonrv and

with mock humility binds himself under the most solemn vows to uphold its dignity by consistency of life and growth in virtue , but gives the lie to his solemn oath in his daily conduct of life . He boasts of the pure

principles of Masonry with loud gusto , but by the profanity of his lip ' s sincerity of purpose contradicts the words ot his mouth . It is no wonder that men entertain

misconceived ideas about our laudable assembly . They form their estimation of our conclave from the life-representation of its individual members .

As Masons we have entered a social compact , freely and knowingly , and we are morally bound by the terms of that compact , and moral demands should have even higher and precedent claims than legal requirements . Those

responsibilities we have willingly assumed , whereas the < egal responsibilities are imposed upon us without our consent . Morality developes the person with whom it , comes

in contact , ; law proscribes limits only . The freedom of a Freemason is prescribed by the term of his obligation , and whenever these are violated he transgresses the limits of

his freedom . As a Mason he is not a lone individual , but a member of a fraternity to which he owes allegiance and reverence . But , a fraternity apart from the individuals which compose it , is an abstraction , a nonentity . Therefore our love towards the Institution should be manifested

by our love towards each individual member of that Institution . It is a contradiction iu terms to say that we love Masonry and hate a brother .. The one cannot be separated from the other , as otherwise the liberty of a

brother is curtailed , and to him it is nob Freemasonry . Masonic freedom is implicit obedience to tho call of duty . If the man is in a normal moral condition disobedience to dut y incurs the accusation of conscience , which gives rise to two

contending factions , the conscience which points to duty and obligation , and a rebellious nature ; and where contention is there can be no freedom . Men frequently wail and lament , because others encroach on their freedom . But far

more frequently we encroach on our own liberty than it is encroached upon . Men seemed to possess two natures , the one noble and true , the other small and mean . In proof of this all men highly estimate the moral and true ,

and value a man ' s character accordingly as he may possess or lack these qualities , but themselves act in direct contradiction to their lives . But . freedom is entirely lost when acknowledged hig h principles are

sacrificed to lower cravings . The ideal conception of Masonry is perfect freedom , but before this can be actualised , each Mason must be free—morally free . I said that freedom and harmony are symphonious . Harmony in music is the

just adaption of parts to each other according to sounds ; it cannot entertain one discordant note . Discord and harmony cannot coexist . Musical harmony is built by a careful adaptation of sounds . Social harmony must be built

and maintained by a studied adaption of one brother to another . There are no two of us alike in " appearance or mode of thinking , and it is our personal peculiarit y that marks our individuality . Otherwise , to all intents and

purposes , we would be the same individuals differently represented in different p laces . Like sounds do not produce harmony , but unison . Harmony is the adjustment of different sounds so as to produce agreement of mingled sounds . Our traits of character must needs differ but