Royal Arch.

tion , was appointed to the post of Honorary Physician to tbe School , and probably no better man could have been chosen for the office , as , in addition to being Senior

Physician to tbe Belgrave Hospital for Children , his position as one of the House Committee for two or three years at the Girls' School has given him a complete insight into the working of tbe Institution .

Tho Committee of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Intution met on Wednesday last , under the presidency of Col . Creaton G . Treasurer , when there were also present Bros . A . H . Tattershall , J . H . Leggott , Frederick Adlard , J . R . Gallant , Julius Qnitmann , T . W . C . Bush , W . H .

Goodall , Edgar Bowyer , Raynbam W . Stewart , Charles Jno . Perceval , Wm . Clarke , W . J . Murlis , Wm . Stephens , James Brett , George Bolton , George L . Moore , J . A . Farnfield , R . P . Tate , John M . Stedwell , H . Cox , Jas . Moore , Thomas Cubitt , E . C . Massey . The minutes of

last meeting having been confirmed , the Committee of Management was completed by the election of ten members to represent the subscribers , and the whole Com mittee , including those nominated by the Grand Master and those elected by Grand Lodge , now stands as

follows : —Bros . Woodford , Clarke , Giraud , Hogg , Phillips , Burney , Peirce , Nettleehip , Brett , Kench , Berry , Bush , Cottebrune , Goodall , McPherson , Moore , Murlis , Tate , Tattershall , Willing jun ., Adlard , Bulmer , Dilley , Goode , Hale , Hilton , Quitmann , Stean , Stephens , and Stewart .

The Secretary reported that Bro . Creaton ' s motion in Grand Lodge for a grant of £ 70 to provide coals during the winter months for the inmates of the Institution at Croydon had been carried . He also reported that the death of one annuitant had occurred since last

election , and that the annuity thus disengaged would be granted to Bro . Gregory , the next candidate entitled to receive it . A letter addressed to Brother Terry , tbe Secretary , from Brother R . R . Davis , giving an account of the origin and present position of the John

Hervey Memorial Fund , was read , and ordered to be recorded on the minutes . The result of the opposition by the Institution to the Bills of the London , Brighton , and South Coast Railway , and other Companies for local lines , now before Parliament , was presented in a

report drawn up by Bro . Raynbam Stewart , and the same being considered satisfactory , tbe thanks of the meeting were tendered , upon motion , to Bro . Stewart for his successful conduct of the opposition . A tender by Mr . Griggs for

alterations to the building at Croydon , rendered necessary by the destructive effects of the recent gales , at a cost of -6165 10 s , -was ordered to stand over , and it was agreed that the House Committee should invite tenders from three

other firms , and that it be remitted to them to accept the tender they considered most advantageous , and at once proceed to have the works carried out . Bros . Hale , Tattershall , Stephens , Bulmer , and Murlis were elected to serve on the Finance Committee * , and Bros . Stewart , Farnfield ,

Perceval , Cubitt , and Bowyer on the House Committee . Ten petitions were considered , of which only one was rejected ; and consequently seven Freemasons and two widows were

added to fche lisfc of candidates eligible at next election . The annual summer entertainment at the Institution to the inmates was authorised , and cheques for various accounts payable were signed by the chairman .

A resolution of condolence with the family of our late Bro . General Garibaldi was this week moved , in the Court of Common Council of tbe City of London by Bro . Sir

John Bennett , and was unanimously agreed to . Our late Bro . Garibaldi had had the freedom of the City of London conferred upon him , so that the compliment was an appropriate one , and will doubtless be appreciated .

The Duke of Connaught , K . G ., has undertaken to preside at the fifty-fifth anniversary of the Infant Orphan Asylum , Wanstead , on tho 24 th insfc . The Duchess of

Connaught will distribute the prizes , and there will be a dejeuner afterwards . Amongst the Stewards are Brothers Alderman Sir Francis Wyatt Truscott P . G . W ., H . B . Marshall C . C ., and John Derby All croft .

Masonry And Religion.

MASONRY AND RELIGION .

FROM THE VOICE OF MASONRY . BY an article on " Masonry and the Bible , " in the April number ot the VOICE , I endeavoured to show the relationship which the Word and the Craft bear to each other , and the views therein expressed are incidental to and intimately connected with the consideration of the present theme . It is not at all improbable that the relationsh ip

of Masonry to religion is but imperfectly understood by the profane world , and also by many of the Craft . I have sometimes been pained to hear—and I presume others have also heard—Masons declare that Masonry was " good enough a religion for them , " that" if a man lived according to its teachings he need not trouble himself about reli gion or church affairs . " The Mason who has studied Masonic philosophy

knows this to be erroneous and mischievous in its results , as tending to prejudice Christian men against an Order which never , even pat . sively , arrays itself against or seeks to usurp or exercise the function ! and character of Religion . The brother who holds or utters such views may be a zealous Mason , and may be a strictly moral man , but his zeal is greater than his knowledge , and his professions can

only resnlt in injury to the Institution which he attempts to magnify . It is , in fact , au ignorant perversion of Masonio teachings , which , if even tacitly tolerated as Masonio doctrine , would drive from among ns all conscientious Christians . The perfect ideal of Masonic character is never attained by even the highest type of morality . Masonry teaches that no man should

ever enter upon any great or important undertaking without first invoking the blessing of Deity . Ifc is not the purpose of this paper to inquire into or discuss the question as to how far a man must be religious in order to be eligible or qualified to pray , but it is clearl y evident that he must have faith in God , as a prerequisite to praying , and it is logically presumable that if he has faith in God it is through

the teachings of the Bible , and hence that he is a Christian . The religious teachings of Masonry are as definite as they can be made without placing the Craft on a higher and more distinctive plane , and making it what it is not , and never was intended to be , a strictly religious organisation ; a character which it seeks to avoid . It imposes on its members no peculiar religious creed or test further than

faith in God , and personal responsibility to His laws , and herein lies the great bulwark of its strength , whereby it unites in its fraternal embrace men of every country , who meet its requirements . But while it grants liberal latitude as to creed , it doea not encourage the idea that a Mason needs no creed , no religious belief , or that Masonry is in any respect a substitute for Religion . It does , however , place

in his hand the book of divine revelation , whioh contains the fundamental truths on which Religion is based , and he cannot accord to that book the respect and veneration which Masonry demands at his hands without being governed by its teachings in forming his religious views . There is a vast difference between the mission of Masonry and

that of the Church , a marked difference in their philosophies , as acting npon and affecting the human family . Religion claims to be regenerative . The Church professes to regenerate man through the power of Revealed Religion , to radically change his habits and actions , and to sustain and uphold him in his revolutionised aud Christianised moral ancl spiritual manhood . Its inceptive and developed principle

of action may be expressed in the single work , regeneration . It is , in its propagandism , active and aggressive . It goes out into all the highways and byways , and by invitation and argument seeks to win all classes of men to its fold . Its primary and fundamental object is to win and prepare souls for eternity , and a celestial inheritance beyond the grave , and the morality which it enjoins is necessarily a

concomitant effect connected with the first great object . Masonry , on the contrary , differing in all these characteristics , makes no claim and entertains no idea of regenerating degenerate man . It seeks not to propagate its system by solicitation , or open invitation to all men . It employs no direct instruments or agencies to induce men to enter its portals . Calmly and quietly it awaits the advances oi those

who seek to penetrate its mysteries , and subjects them to rigid inquiry and crucial test as to moral fitness and character , before proceeding even to vote npon their eligibility for admission . Masonry does not assume to regenerate or change man ' s nature . It seeks by every means to avoid the necessity of such an effort , knowing that it conld only result disastrously . It admits , or means to admit

nothing but good , sound , moral material . It aims to make good men better , but never to make bad men good . That it succeeds grandly in its aims none can deny . There can be no practical limit to human and moral improvement , and the advantages and opportunities of moral development are strengthened and increased by association and co-operation . To the young man who enters the Masonic

family these advantages are of inestimable value . He is broug ht not only under the influences of salutary laws , which restrain the natural tendencies toward immorality , and tbe formation or indulgence of mischevions habits , bnt by daily contact and association with men of high moral character he gradually and unconsciously assimilates with their habits and thoughts , and thus developes those

nobler qualities of his nature which fit him for the esteem of man , and usefulness to society . But he is never taught that this is the acme of Masonry . If he has studied its philosophy and comprehended its symbolism he has learned that " it is not all of life to live , even thongh that life be morally faultless , but in the sublime symbolism of the third degree ho must have learned that which imp lies a future state of existence , and of preparation in this life for that

evcntfnl period . Masr . nry is ever the handmaid of Religion , tho monitor of the necessity of religions life and conduct , but never assumes to offer itse as a substitute for Religion . While these statements are undeniable facts , it is also true , paradoxical as it may seom , that the bitte res , most malignant opposition to Masonry , amounting , wero it possib e , to persecution , is found iu some so-called Christiau Churches , D ,