A Plea For Tolerance.

Alas , no ! Give any existing church unrestricted sway , and religious liberty would be dead from that moment . Breemasons need not write or declaim against the power , and danger to free institutions from Rome , as long as America continues worthy of the liberties her sons enjoy ; for Rome , Protestantism and dissent alike are powerless against them so

long as those liberties are appreciated at their true value , and when they cease to be so valued we ought to lose them . No church has more reason to be thankful for the great dogma of religious liberty than Rome , and her wisest and best men know that but for this Masonic principle it could not have been

p lanted or continue to exist in these United States . When we begin to wage war upon any form of religion , the spirit of fanaticism will carry us , in less than a generation , into a war against all churches , and then would come , as we have the melancholy illustration in Brance—Atheism .

Let us , then , not permit ourselves to be drawn into any controversy about what this church or that sect may teach , for so long as there is no attempt to suppress the teachings of Masonry and it is left free to combat error with its moral forces , it will continue to be , as it has been in the past , the great bulwark of religious liberty . The Pope may excommunicate individuals ,

but he cannot overthrow great vital principles ; if we remain true to them we need not spend any time in attacking any system of theology or form of church government , or even pause in our work to reply to the assaults of priest or layman , " for if this counsel or this work be of man it will come to naught , but if it be of God ye cannot overthrow it . —Frederic Speed , Vicksburg , Mississippi , in " Voice of Masonry . "

Masonry And Its Mission.

MASONRY AND ITS MISSION .

A MAN , rich or poor , is a better man , and a better citizen for his Masonry and his devotion to the Craft . It may not make him perfect ; it cannot ; but more than any other institution , or more than all others together , it will elevate him , broaden his views and expand his mind , and will make him charitable and tolerant to the views of others . Nothing can exceed the

grandeur of our fraternity if" we but fully realise its mission and be true to its spirit , disowning and abolishing all distinctions that destroy and oppress all that separates the human family , rather striving to promote and advance goodwill to all mankind . By nothing have rich or poor , wise and ignorant , cultivated and unlettered , fortunate and disappointed , been more brought into unison among us than by Masonry .

Masonry , more than any other institution , has instilled the love of liberty , of equality and of tolerance into the minds of the founders of our Republic . Masonry has largely aided in shaping our Government for and by the people , and the closer we adhere to its tenets the better for the country and for us ; but we should be alive to the important mission of Masonry , like the soldier

who prides himself upon the achievements of his regiment , upon the battles fought and won by it even long before he was a member thereof . So should we , as Masons , realise the great mission of our Craft , and feel a just pride in its work of the past and be ready to stand by its work in the future . While as Masons one cannot and ought not to mingle or interfere in affairs

of State or politics , one can make manifest the inculcation of our Order , and by our daily life increase the general sum of moral influence , and so cause our light to shine before men that others , seeing our good works , may imitate them and thereby be profited . The mission of Masonry enlists all of our nobler nature , and should ever be uppermost in our minds . While there is a want

to be relieved , sorrow to be sympathised with , faults and errors to be forgiven , and while widows and orphans weep and suffer , there is work for Masonry and for Masons . From the highest to the lowest , the rich or the poor , all can find a niche in the general whole , and all with good results , if earnestly and faithfully intent upon the carrying out , each for himself , of even a part of the grand mission of Masonry . — " New York Tribune . "

The membership of capitular Masonry throughout the world is increasing year after year , so the cause of complaint of a falling off here and there is only local and temporary . The chances are that a slight decease one year will be more than made up by large accessions the next . If , however , the decrease

is found to be a growing one in any particular jurisdiction , then it will be well for zealous Craftsmen to employ proper methods to counteract it . The best possible methods consist in the election of efficient Officers , a faithful attendance of members and good work . — " New York Tribune . "

o o o The Provincial Grand Chapter of Somerset will be held at Frome next month .

Masonry And Its Mission.

" The Sign of the Cross . "—We are pleased to hear that Bro . Wilson Barrett ' s latest production is continuing its successful career , not only in London , but wherever it is represented , and that the high opinions expressed as to its excellence are continually being endorsed in fresh quarters . Mr . A . E . Field , the Busiuess Manager for Bro . Barrett , has handed us the following copy of a letter recently received from Mr . Gladstone , which is in itself a pleasing testimony to the excellence of Bro . Barrett's work :

" Hawarden Castle , 8 th August 1896 . MY DEAR SIE , —We have just returned from witnessing the performance of your "Sign of the Cross" to a very crowded afternoon audience , in the theatre at Chester , where we were received with the very utmost kindness and courtesy . I was aware that this was a daring operation on my part , after ceasing to attend theatres some years ago on account of the condition of my sight and hearing , but I was anxious to render this feeble tribute of acknowledgment to your important and high aimed effort .

Both the acting and the " mise-en-scene" appeared to me , so far as I could judge , to do very high credit to the performer and the manager respectively . Though little weight can justly be attached to my judgment I cannot but think that the piece displays a strong dramatic spirit , a lofty aim , and much judgment and tact as well as force in the management of a difficult dialogue .

You seem to me to have rendered , while acting strictly within the lines of the theatre , a great service to the best and holiest of all causes , the cause of Faith . The audience which showed reasonable self-government even in the smaller points , appreciated most highly the passages which were most directly associated with this service and with tho fundamental idea of the niece .

And I rejoice to hear of the wide and warm approval which the piece has received , most of all because its popularity betokens sound leanings and beliefs in the mass of the people , and shows you acted nobly as well as boldly , in placing your reliance upon them .

I remain , my dear Sir , yours very faithfully , ( Signed ) W . E . GLADSTONE . Wilson Barrett , Esq . "

Hastings And St. Leonards Carnival.

HASTINGS AND ST . LEONARDS CARNIVAL .

THE South-Eastern Bailway Company announce that on Monday and Wednesday next a special cheap fast train will be run to Hastings and St . Leonards , leaving Charing Cross at 9-20 a . m ., calling at Waterloo , Cannon Street , London Bridge , and New Cross . Cheap tickets to Hastings and St . Leonards are issued every week day , leaving Charing Cross at 9 . 22 a . m ., and

10-20 a . m ., calling at Waterloo , Cannon Street , London Bridge , and New Cross . These tickets are available for the day only . This Saturday cheap third class tickets , available to return by certain trains on 8 th , 10 th , 15 th or 17 th day , will be issued to Hastings and St . Leonards , leaving Charing Cross at 8-20 a . m . and 11-15 a . m ., calling at Waterloo , Cannon Street , London Bridge , and New Cross . The Hastings and St . Leonards Carnival will last from 24 th to 28 th August .

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