Military Lodges.

lish ) , and No . 283 ( Irish ) , there being present altogether 150 . Service was held in St . George ' s Church , and then came the banquet , at Avhich about ninety sat clown , under the

presidency ot Captain South . This completes the account published by Uro . Clarke . "What has been the fate of the Lodge since will bo doubtless described by somo equall y competent historian .

"Tolerance" And The French Question Once More.

" TOLERANCE" AND THE FRENCH QUESTION ONCE MORE .

Bv BRO . JACOTS NORTON . I THANK " Tolerance " for his fraternal expressions in his letter of 9 fch March . Bufc his arguments may bo briefly summed up thus : " They aro my opinions , and I am supported by Aristotle , Cicero , tho Masonic Bitnal , and tho Bible . " Tho last named authority seems to him unanswerable . " I proclaim , in fact , " says he , " that God himself is a liar wheu by the month of Ilia own inspired servant He declared ,

tho fool has said in his heart thoro is no God . " If every Biason believed in the inspiration of fcho Biblo , his argument would havo bosn cogent and proper . Bufc somo Masons may doubt tho inspiration of King David . David himself never claimed inspiration , either for tho Psalms , or for any other sacred book of tho Hebrews . There is no word in fcho Hebrew language to correspond

with the word inspire or inspirat ion , and oven in the English version of tho Old Testament , tho word inspiration cannot be found . If the Jews had believed in the dogma of Bible inspiration , they would at least have had a word to express ifc . The truth is , the word inspiration , like somo other theological phrases , is undefined , and of doubtful meaning . * Keep , therefore , theso biblical assumptions out of

Masonic discussions . Tho pious zealot can prove from tho Bible the sinfulness for a Christian to associate Avith Jews , Deists , & c , just' as clearly as " Tolerance" proves about atheists ; and last , and nofc least , it Avill only tend to involve us in an endless theological disscussion , which we as Masons shonld try to avoid . The questions to be decided aro simply these : —1 st . Are atheists

necessarily stupid and immoral ? and if not , is it nofc the duty of Grand Lodges to expunge that phrase from Masonic Constitutions ? And 2 nd . As moral and honesb men can be fonud among atheists , what harm can ifc do to Masonry to admit them , and to alter tho formula in accordance with the further extension of Masonic universality ? or , iii other words , eliminate all theology from the Masonio ritual .

"I pan see , " says " Tolerance , " " there is a serious difforencebefcween Bro . Norton and myself as to tho sense in which we severally use tho word 'morality . ' Ho , ifc is evident , uses ifc in tho ordinary and accepted meaning . His notion of a moral man is tho ordinary one , namely , ono that is honest . . . Who will nofc appropriate to his own uses another person ' s goods , who -will pay every debt ho may

contract . . . Who does not hanker after his neighbour ' s wife or daughter ; who will nofc assault his neighbour , who will not conceal his enmity under a mask of friendship ; Avho , in short , will nob do any of those things Avhich aro commonly accounted of men as iu the narrowest meaning of the word , immoral . " To this ho might havo added , tho man who lives up to tho golden

riilo , is in Bro . Norton ' s opinion sufficiently moral for Masonry . These evidences of morality aro wifch " Tolerance , " tho ordinary aud imrrmvest meaning of the Avord morality , ifc is nofc enough for his standard . " I take ifc , " says ho , " to include the whole duty of man , in tho sense in which snch duty is described afc length by Aristotle in his Ethics , and by Cicoro in his treatise Be Ofriciis ; " or , in other

words , the whole duty of man includes belief in a Deity . I am nofc acquainted with tho works of either Aristotle or Cicero . Tlioy certainly wero nofc inspired writers ; their opinions may therefore havo been fallacious . One thing I venture to assort , viz ., if belief , even in a Deity , Avas regarded by them as a duty , they must have been ignorant of the fact that helicf is entirely independent of a

man ' s will . Bufc with this fact before us , I think thafc when man is good and true , and has done hia best to investigate tho various theological theories or beliefs , ho has performed his duty , and when his opinion is settled ho ought to refrain from promulgating ifc iu private circles where ifc might offend some ono present ; but he has a perfect right to publish his opinions , whether they may agree or disagree with the

prevailing religious belief . " The atheist , " says " Tolerance , " " rejects all the ordinary forms of obligation by which men bind themselves to speak the truth . Therefore it wonld be an act of gross injustice to condemn or acquit a prisoner on the testimony of snch a person . " The same arguments were formerly used to exclude tho testimony

of Jews , Universalists , and Unitarians . Thus , between 1 S 23 and 1813 the Grand Lodgo of Tennessee required candidates to avow a belief in future reward aud punishment , which excluded Universalists ( who disbelieve in devil , hell , & c . ) from Masonry in Tennessee ; and I am informed that , about sixty years ago , tho testimony of Universalists was rejected in Massachusetts courts of law . Bufc ifc

has since then been discovered thafc disbelief in future punishment will not necessaril y induce a man to swear falsely , and hence Ten . nesseo admits Universalists into Masonry , and the law courts in Massachusetts receive thoir testimony , and , strange to say , Canon Pamir of England , and Mr . Beecher aud other evangelical divines in America , are now defending the doctrines of tho Universalists ' Church . " And other creeds will rise with other vears . "

"Tolerance" And The French Question Once More.

Mr . Lecky , iu his most recent work , viz ., " History of England in tlio Eighteenth Century , " after narrating the persecuting laAva enacted against Dissenters , goes on to say , — " Tho other class excluded from the benefits of the Toleration Act , and existing only in violation of tho law , consisted of all thoso who impugned either the orthodox doctrine of tho Trinity , or the super .

natural character of Christianity , or the divine authority of tho scriptures . All such persons , by a law of William III ., wore disabled , upon the first conviction , from holding any ecclesiastical , civil , or military office , aud wero deprived upon a second conviction of tho power of suing or prosecuting iu any law court , of being guardians or executors , and of receiving any legacy or deed of gift ; they wero also

made liable to imprisonment for three years . ( Vol . I . p 337 . ) Theso laws wero in full force in 1717 , 1723 and 173 S ; bnt yet the exclusion of Unitarians ' , & o . evidence in courts of law did not pre . vent tho founders of modern Masonry from voting for Unitarians into the Masonic brotherhood . Tho fact is , in 1717 tho founders of Masonry took up an advanced position of tho ago , as well aa of tha

laws and law makers ; thoy knew the laws againsfc Dissenters , & c , wero unjust , and thoy therefore formed tho Masonic fraternity with the design of breaking up religious prejudices and religious persecutions . Against atheists , however , tho founders of tho Graud Lodge shared tho common prejudices of tho vulgar ; honco they excluded atheists from Masonry . But wo have now a class of Masons

who cannot see thafc tho world has moved , and thafc Masonry must move with ifc . Theso brethren aro horrified afc fcho idea of any ono making an effort to advance liberal opinions , and to leave tho world a littlo wiser than ho found ifc ; their highest philosophy is , " as wo received it so wo must impart it . " If theso declaimers against tho French Grand Orient had lived in 1717 , thoy would as bitterly havo

opposed tho admission of Jews , Unitarians , Deists , & c , as they now oppose atheists ; and tho arguments thoy uso aro of the same stripe as those used both in Church and State , by Tories and Conservatives , against all kind of reform . The French Masons of tho last century havo been guilty of saddling the Craft with tho tomfoolery of Masonic Knighthood , and

other high degrees , and , I am sorry to say , they are still silly enough to cling to them . But , nevertheless , to their credit bo it said , that , in this century , the Grand Orient of France has taken tlie lead of tho Grand Lodgo of England in endeavouring to extend Masonio universality . It protested , before the Grand Lodge of England did . against the anti-Masonic conduct of the Berlin Grand Lodges . It

acknowledged tho coloured Masons in America ; and its last action is simply another right step in another direction ; it will banish sectarian jealousy and strife from Masonic Lodges . Tho thief , says " Tolerance" " only sins against man , bufc the atheist sins againsfc God ; the former is preferable as a candidate for Masonry to tho latter . "

Now , how does " Tolerance" know which is tho greater sin ? And as to his preference for the company of an orthodox thief to thafc of an honest atheist , I think very few will share in his opinion . " Hitherto wc havo been in a position to refute tho oft-repoated statement , thafc there is uo antagonism ( ho meant thafc there is an antagonism ) , between religion and Masonry . "

Now , with duo respect to " Tolerance , I maintain thafc these oft . repeated charges of antagonism have never been refuted . When ho talks about religion , ho ought to define the religion , because there aro so many religions . Thus , in the fifteenth century , Lodge prayers wero addressed to tho Virgin , the Trinity and the Four Holy Martyrs ; in tho seventeenth century the Trinity was retained , bnt tho

Virgin and Holy Saints Martyrs were discarded . The Roman Catholic , therefore , charges Masonry with antagonism to religion , because , in his opinion , there can bo no true religion where the Virgin and Saints are ignored . After 1717 , the Trinity was also expunged from the Lodge prayers , hence , the Trinitarian charges Masonry wifch antagonism to religion . The symbolising of tho Bible in tho Lodge ,

conflicts with tho Deist ' s religion , and tho mongrel American Masonry is antagonistic to the Jew's religion . In short , as soon as religion was introduced into tho Lodge work , thafc religion must necessarily have been offensive to those who believed a littlo more , as well as to those who believed a littlo less than the Lodge regulations prescribed . The measure meted out in the Lodge , satisfied bufc

one class of religionists , and was moro or less offensive to all tho other classes of relig ionists . While on the other hand , if theology as well as anti-theology were excluded from the Lodge ; if no one ' s religious prejudices , or ' preferences if you please , wero either flattered or offended in a Masonic Lodge , the hue and cry about antagonism between religion and Masonry ( except among nltamontanes and

extreme bigots ) would necessarily cease . I shall conclude in nearly the same words as my opponent . I havo now touched on most , if nofc all , of the points in Bro . " Tolerance ' s " replies to my communications , and having done this , I fraternally salute him , and all others who have taken part in the discussion

whether pro or con . I thank tho Editor for his liberality in allowing free discussion on matters antagonistic to his own expressed opinion , and ifc is certainly a source of gratification that questions of this nature can bo discussed among Masons with perfect freedom , and without fear of provoking either anger or ill feeling among the combatants or spectators . BOSTON , UNITED STATES , 29 th March 1878 .

On Tuesday eveningnext , afc the Prosperity Lodge of Instruction , No . 65 , afc the Hercules Tavern , Leadenhall Street , a ballot will take place for two or three Life

Snbscriberships for the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls . The amount so realised will bo placed on the list of Bro Charles Daniel P . M ., who acts as Steward for the Mother Lodgo at the Festival on the 10 th proximo .