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TO OUR READERS . Tne FitEEitAS JN is a sixteen-page weekly newspaper , price 2 d . It is published every Friday morning , and contains the most important , interesting , and useful information relating to Freemasonry in every degree . Annual subscription in the United Kingdom , Post free , 10 / 6 . P . O . O . ' s to be made payable at the Chief Office , London .

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TO ADVERTISERS . The FBEEMASON has a large circulation in all parts of the Globe , its advantages as an advertising medium can therefore scarcely be overrated .

ADVERTISEMENTS to ensure insertion in current week ' s issue should reach the Office , 198 , Fleet-st . eet , hy 12 o ' clock on Wednesdays .

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NOTICE . To prevent delay or miscarriage , it is particularly requested that ALL communications for the FREEMASON , may be addressed to the Office , 198 , Fleet-street , London .

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IMPORTANT NOTICE . COLONIAL and FOREIGN SUBSCRIBERS are informed that acknowledgments of remittances received are published in the first number of every month .

It is very necessary for our readers to advise us of all money orders they remit , more espe cially those from the United States of America and India ; otherwise we cannot tell where to credit them .

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NEW POSTAL RATES . Owing to a reduction in the Postal Rates , the publisher is now enabled to send the " Freemason " to the following parts abroad for One Year for Thirteen Shillings ( payable in advance ) : —Africa , Australia , Bombay , Canada , Cape of Good Hope , Ceylon , China , Constantinople , Demerara , France , Germany , Gibraltar , Jamaica , Malta , Newfoundland , New South Wales , New Zealand , Suez , Trinidad , United States of America , & c .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

" Encouragement to the Ladies" in our next . BOOKS , & c , RECEIVED . " Bolletino Officiate del Giande Oriente Nazionale Egizianoj" " Scottish Freemason ; " " Masonic Advocate ; " " Hajnal ; " Risorgimento ; " " Keystone j " " Unity Trade Marks ; " " London Chatham and Dover Panoramic Guide . "

Births,Marriages And Deaths.

Births , Marriages and Deaths .

[ The charge is 2 S . fid . for announcements , not exceed ing four lines , under this heading . ]

BIR 1 HS . EDMONDS . —On the 2 isl ult ., at St . Oswald ' s-road , Fulham , the wife of J . H . K . Edmonds , of a son . PEARSE . —On the 4 th inst ., the wife of D . W . Pearse , of a

son , at 6 , Colville Terrace , East , Bayswater . TOIIKINGTON . —On the 6 th inst ., at Cheriton , the wife of Capt . Torkington , 41 st Regt ., of a son . ZETLAND . —On the 9 th inst ., at Upleatham , Marske-by the-Sea , the Countess of Zetland , of a daughter .

MARRIAGES . BURLEIGH—WATSOV . —On the yth inst ., at St . Matthew ' s Denmark-hill , Camberwell , William Frederick , son of the late B . Burleigh , C . E ., to Lucy , daughter of S . G . Watson , Esq ., of Coldharbour-lane . MACNEILL—AGNEW . —On the 10 th inst ., at St . George ' s Hanover-square , Duncan Macneill , Esq ., to Louisa Lucia , daughter of Sir A . Agnew , Bart .

DEATHS . BARNES . —On the 7 th inst ., at Ventnor , I . of W ., Lowthei Graves Colcbrooke Barnes , aged 31 . HAIIVEV . —On the 9 th inst ., at Albert-road , Brighton , Rosengrave , infant son of Capt . F . R . Harvey . IIUI - . —On the 18 th inst ., at 260 , Portobello-road , Notting-hill , Caroline , the beloved wife of Frederick Holmes , aged 42 ,

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TheFreemason, SATURDAY , J 14 , 1877 .

Masonic Betting Cards.

MASONIC BETTING CARDS .

Does the bare mention of such a state of things take away the breath , almost , of some of our readers ? Well , we can only assure them of the fact , and propose , on the present occasion , to call the attention of our Craft to the subject . Betting clubs and betting cards are an institution

of the day , and constitute one of the greatest sources of temptation and causes of wrong-doing , especially among domestic servants , young clerks , and a large portion of the criminal population . Ask any detective officer in Scotland-yard or the City , and he will tell you at once that few people ,

except themselves , who have to deal with it hourly , can form any conception of the prevalence of the nuisance , of the serious forms of evil it assumes , and the wide extent and spreading growth of this plague spot , this running sore , in our social existence to-day . Many a happy

home is broken up , many a promising career is blighted , much and enduring sorrow falls to the lot of tbe innocent and the helpless , when some confidential clerk , some rising young cashier , some hardworking bread-winner , is lured into the fatal vortex of this betting maelstrom , and

is whirled , here and there , in its dangerous eddies , until in a dark moment he robs his employer , in order to find " grease" for the wheels , or " grist" for the mill . That is to say , in plain language , he steals his employer ' s goods or money , in order to fulfil his

engagement of dishonour ( not honour ) , at the betting club , with the Vendor of this baneful poison . Perhaps at first he is tndiscovered , and so he is tempted to repeat the easy process , until , emboldened and hardened , he sins , with a high hand , is detected , is exposed , and fiuds himself in the

hands of the police and in a cell at Newgate . What wretchedness he has brought on his wife and children , how he has blighted a fair fame , and thrown away an honest career , it needs not for us to say here . Suffice it to add , that hardly a day passes but our police reports tells us of

this great and growing evil . Indeed , it is a hard task to attempt to guage the depth and width of this cancerous disorder , eating out honesty , confidence , morality , and sobriety amongst us , and making all serious persons feel bow alarming is the epidemic , and how needful is a remedy .

Can nothing bo done to restrain the evil tendencies of these illegal associations ? Will no words of kindly warning arrest the young in their downward course , alarm the middle-aged , or even afreet the old , for betting cards and betting clubs are no respecters of persons or of age ?

If , as has been truly said , the ' * Love of money is the root of all evil , " so as surely this inordinate desire of hasty gain is both a sad spectacle and a regrettable malady , inasmuch as it betrays a very unhealthy state of moral perception , and too often proceeds from ill-regulated minds and

ill-conducted lives , licentious habits , ill-omened connexions , for which money has to be got somehow , if not by fair means by foul . It is often very alarming for the philanthropist and the moralist to catch glimpses of the corruption underlying outside show and general reputation ,

and to know and believe that there is , as it were , a growing tendency in all the " strata " of society alike , to seek for unri ghteous gains and illegal successes , and to subordinate everything , honour , duty , principle , and religion , to a determination to obtain money for their own

unhallowed gratification or debasing habits , at any cost , at any price . And if this be true , as we fear most true it is , in the body politic at large , what can we say of Masonic betting cards but that they are opposed to every principle of Masonic teaching , every axiom of Masonic duty ? To realize the fact , that in defiance of the laws

of the land , which , as Masons , we profess to obey , betting cards are issued by Masons with Masonic emblems upon them , which are bought up by the young , the unwary , and the credulous , is , indeed , a sad satire on Masonic profession ! How far such conduct renders the vendor or distributor of such cards amendable to the Board of General Purposes may be a matter of question ,

Masonic Betting Cards.

but of this we feel certain , that if any lodge , after due trial and proved delinquency , expelled a brother from its ranks , as acting contrary both to the laws of the land and the moralit y 0 f Freemasonry , and the credit of the lod ge , for the traffic in betting cards with Masonic

emblems , such expulsion would be upheld by our Masonic authorities . As Freemasons we are bound to obey the " ordinances of the realm , " both in the letter and the spirit , and our constitutions assume , as a matter of fact , as the common law of Masonry , that we do not disobey

in any particular , directly or indirectly , the deci . sions of the Supreme Legislature . We deepl y regret to call the attention of the Order to this subject , but our excuse must be that the effects of this hurtful system have recently come before us in sad reality , and we think it our bounden

duty , in the interests of that great Order for which we write , to protest against the evil of Masonic betting cards , per se , and the degradation to Freemasonry , involved in the fact that its signs and symbols may be seen on such illegal documents , alike , as we believe , hurtful to morality and a dishonour to the Craft .

Charity And Relief

CHARITY AND RELIEF

Perhaps this is one of the most difficult questions of the day , the problem most hard to solve , whether we consider it in the interests of society or for the welfare of the individual . The giving of charity and the administration of relief to the poor and needy are most largely affected by two

opposing principles of action , neither of which , in our opinion , is perfect , per se . The one is the absolute gift to the applicant , without regard to ulterior effects , the other is the refusal to give without inquiry , and the laying down of certain artificial tests of the abstract characteristics of

true poverty . No one can defend indiscriminate almsgiving , without inquiry or consideration , because the use becomes an abuse , and true charity is meant to be intelligent charity , and there may actually be times when it is the triifst charity not to give at all . To contend that

you are bound to give , simply because you are asked to give , and that the act of giving is sufficient in itself , without reference to any other consideration , is not warranted either by the Bible or reason . If we understand rig htly the principle of giving , laid down by the Best of all

Teachers , charity implies thoughtful consideration and careful treatment . Therefore we by no means join those who declare that in the mere act of almsgiving is to be found either its real essence or its true spirit . But , on the other hand , we cannot agree with those who seek to multiply

unnecessarily artificial tests as to the condition of poverty and the claims of the poor , for we feel sure that they will only serve to augment , extend , and prolong the malady . As regards Poor law relief , for instance , we have long felt that though the workhouse test may be necessary ,

it may be equally too much pressed into the administration of relief , and we are convinced of this , that not only has it not diminished pauperism , but it has even in some cases tended undoubtedly to increase the pauperization of the people . We are going to assert not a

paradox , but a conclusion of careful thought and study and administration for years , when we say that the real aim of all poor relief should be to keep people out of the workhouse , not to force them in . As once in , once imbue them with the idea that they are

provided for by the State , they will remain paupers in mind to the end of their days , and never seek to regain either the consciousness of independence or the virtue of self-respect . Hence we are against all extremes in such matters , t " " workhouse test" in its abuseis only the

con-, sequence of a reaction against indiscriminate outdoor relief . The' technicalities and difficulties of our Charitable Reform Societies will not keep away the rogue or the vagrant , but will only affect " honest poverty , " and we therefore

deprecate the excess , ( on this side somcwl " rampant ) , just as we give up the e ) cesz on the other . There is , as usual , a v ^ media in this , as in all other matters here , whtf we deem worthy of note , and certainly of ***?* ling by , if we wish to make our relief and charity