Anti-Masonry.

for the truth , the whole truth , and nothing but the truth of what we advance than our characters and standing in society as citizens and Christian characters with many of us humble but dear and . invaluable to us all . We are all Masons , and some of us as far advanced as the Boyal Arch Degree .

1 . We declare to you fellow citizens , thafc as far as we are acquainted with Masonry , there is no obligation among Masons inconsistent with their duties as citizens , incompatible with the requirements of Christianity , or in violation of any moral obligation ; and of this every Mason 'is informed before he is admitted to the Order .

2 . We declare that it is repugnant to the principles of the Order that . a man can bind himself by an obligation , contravening his duties to God , to his country , to society , or to himself . 3 . There is no obligation in Masonry obliging or requiring a Mason to vote for a brother Mason in preference to one not a Mason .

4 . We declare that Freemasonry is not a political institution ; that Masons are laid under no political engagements whatever , except a general charge " that they shall be peaceable subjects , conform to the laws of the country in which they reside , and not be concerned in plots or conspiracies against the government , " and that the rules of Masonry expressly exclude politics from the Lodge .

5 . We assert thafc there is no obligation among Masons binding fchem to unworthy objects or unworthy Brethren . 6 . We declare that we know of no Masonic word , sign or obligation which has been or can be used for the perversion of public justice , or in avoidance of the laws of our country ; nor have we ever in any instance known justice perverted by one Mason in favour of another .

7 . We know of no impious , profane or blasphemous oaths in the Order . 8 . We never knew of a power being possessed or claimed by a Lodge or by individual Masons , to inflict any penalty for a

disclosure of the secrets of Masonry , or for a violation of its rules , other than censure and expulsion from the Order—and that disgrace which is the inevitable consequence of the violation of an honourable engagement among honourable men , whether in or out of the Lodge .

9 . We never heard of any persuasion used to any person to induce him to become a Mason . On the contrary , any candidate is at liberty to retire from the Lodge , or withdraw as a member afc any time he pleases , either during his initiation or subsequently . 10 . We have never had , either as a Lodge or individually , any knowledge or information upon the subject of what is called

the " Morgan abduction , " excepfc that in common with our fellow citizens derived from the newspaper of the day . And we declare to you that any infringement of the civil or religious rights , privileges and liberties of any person is in direct repugnance to and violation of the principles and requirements of the Order .

On the subject of political combinations among Masons , we appeal to you _ fellow citizens who know us personally , if we have not been divided on all questions of general politics and local matters . Our opinions and votes upon the last presidential

election were no secret to our neighbours , and we appeal to them if our votes were not nearly equally divided in that instance , in which a Mason and a distinguished Mason , our present chief magistrate , Gen . Jackson , was a candidate in opposition to one avowedly not a Mason .

We ask you whether , notwithstanding the alleged selfishness of the Order , you have not found us according to our circumstances as generous supporters of liberal objects and institutions , and as charitable contributors for the relief of necessitous persons , not Masons , as the generality of the individuals of the community . "

The character of this unusual appeal gives an idea of the extreme violence of the feeling that had been worked up by designing politicians against a wholly inoffensive class of men engaged in works of beneficence . Masonry is popular now , but it is well to remember that there was a time when heroic souls were necessary to stand out against the persecutions prevalent . " American Tyler . "

Masonry, Pure And Undefiled.

MASONRY , PURE AND UNDEFILED .

TTUT" holy principles were breathed into the ear of Adam , y V amid the delightful shades of Paradise , when everything glowed around in all the beauty and freshness of the morning of creation , that were given by the Almighty himself to Moses , ainid the awful

thunders and vivid flashes of Sinai , and are constantly whispering in our ears in a still , small voice , but in language all mny comprehend ; is so shorn of everything but goodness that it stands forth as tho handmaid of the Bible and the embodiment oi all holiness ia light therein . Thus ib has been for all the

Masonry, Pure And Undefiled.

centuries pasfc , and thus it will continue for all fche centuries yet to come . When order sprang out of chaos , ancl oar Great Creator said , " Let us make man , " He endowed him with principles whieh , had they been followed closely from his creation , would have made this world a veritable paradise .

But—when Mother Eve was born , and Adam took her unto himself , and for this disobedience they were both driven from the presence of fcheir Master and from Eden ' s beautiful garden , sin ran riot with our ethics , as given us at our creation , and from that good day to this has kept up a running fire against our Masonry . That it has succeeded in some instances and carried the citadel

of our week-kneed Brothers by storm goes without saying , but the large majority of those who cast tlieir lot with us for " the good that they might do , without the hope of fee or reward , " still cling to the eternal principles as imparted at the beginning , and bid defiance to the imprecations hurled at us be designing men or their efforts to brand us as an " engine of oppression . "

Its mission in this world is pure and holy , and therefore not susceptible of being distorted into the handiwork of business or politics as some seem to think , and , we are sorry to say , some try to practice . It has been but a short time since we heard of a

lawyer who approached a criminal in jail , and used as an argument in " soliciting his case , " that " he was a prominent Mason , also Oddfellow and Knight of Pythias , and he would see that he got the right kind of a jury . "

Was ever such an imputation cast on Masonry before , especially so by one who claims to have sense enough to be a lawyer ? He well knew that when he made such a proposition he violated his promise to his Lodge and laid himself liable to being disciplined by them . He also knew that afc the beginning

of Masonry he was taught that " in the state you are to be true to your government and just to your country ; you are not to countenance any act which may disturb the peace of the community in which you reside , but pay due obedience to the laws . " It goes without saying , then , that a jury selected by him would turn a criminal loose through the influence of his " special

pleadings " and Fraternal manipulations , stands perjured in the sight of God and in the estimation of their Brethren , and sleepless will be their nights and agonising their conscience when they think of the wrong committed , to say nothing of the reparation to be made when they are called to answer for the " deeds done in the body . "

We have seen a counterpart of this great wrong practised by designing men in politics . Ifc has come to be a common thing with the many politicians who are Masons iu name only to practice their sophistry upon the credulity of the less informed and

tooconfiding Brother . It is astonishing how they attempt to manipulate an entire Lodge , and more astonishing how well they succeed in some instances , notwithstanding there may be some individual members thereof whose convictions are adverse to the

sophist and political trickster . This state of facts exists in the country more than in cities , because the country Brother , being honest himself , thinks all others are so . He little dreams that the astute Masonic politican , who makes it convenient to attend all the Lodge meetings in his

district during his canvass , and , by request , " entertains the Brethren by a few remarks , " and during luncheon , of which he partakes from the well-filled baskets of the Brethren , shakes every one of them by the hand and seems particularly solicitous about the health of their families , cares bufc little for them and

less for their Masonry , provided he can secure their votes . We have seen instances of this kind within our own section for the last fifteen or twenty years past , and having been successful upon several occasions , they have become chronic office-seekers , relying always on " working " the Brethren .

Many men in business are equally culpable in their machinations of Masonry . They enter the Order for thafc purpose and turn a deaf ear to everything else . The almighty dollar is the goal of fcheir ambition , and if in the attainment of their desires Masonry must be sacrificed and its principles put to shame , be it so .

And so we must continue throughout the whole category of designing men , but as this state of things has existed from time immemorial , and will continue to exist as long as time lasts , all we can hope to do is to cause some of them , at least , to stop and think while we remind them of the fact that Masonry is averse to their actions , and they will not be held guiltless when the final reckoning comes .

Masonry is a " beautiful system of morality , " founded upon the holy Bible , and he who would attempt to distort its principles and teachings into personal aggrandisement violates his vows and betrays his trust . —Bun F . Price , in " American Tyler . "

If you find anything in the fundamental laws of Freemasonry which you think needs an apology , you are undoubtedly in the " wrong box , " and the sooner you separate yourself from it the better for you and the Order . —Exchange .