Contents.

CONTENTS .

• LEA An English View of Freemasonry in America ... - „ -,, " ; ' 37 Testimonial to R . W . Bro . the Hon . Sir H . T . Prinsep , Past D . G . M . of Bengal ... ... - ••• - ' 38 Freemasonry in County Down ... ... ¦¦• ••• ••• 139 Consecration of the Brondesbury Lodge , No . 2 G 9 S ... ... , ... 140 Hidden MysteryNo . il .... ... ... ... - - 140

Dance and Conversazione of St . Nicholas Lodge , No . 16 7 6 ... ... 111 Ladies'Night of the Lodge of Perseverance , No . 1 743 ... ... ... 141 Cryptic Masonry ... ... - - •¦• ' 4 ' MAS ONIC NOTES- ¦ Masonic Excursion to Jerusalem ... ... ... ... 143 Centenary Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys ... ... 143

Consecration of the Italia Lodge , No . 26 S 7 ... ... ... 143 Presentations to Bros . S . Vallentine , P . G . P ., and W . H . Bailey , P . G . Treas . 143 Lodge Minutes ... •¦• ... •¦• •¦• ' 43 Correspondence •¦¦ ¦ ••¦ ••• ¦¦¦ ' 44 Reviews ... " ¦ " " ¦ ¦¦* ¦¦ ' ' ¦¦ ' 44 Provincial Grand Mark Lodge of Leicestershire and Rutland ... ... 144

Annual Supper of the Rose Lodge of Instruction , No . 1622 _ ... ... 145 The Recent Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... ... 145 Craft Masonry ... ••• — •¦• ••• 145 Royal Arch ... ¦•• ••• ¦•• - — ' 4 < 5 Mark Masonry ... ¦¦• ••• ••• ¦•• ' 47 Royal Ark Mariners ... ... ... ... ... 147 Ancient and Accepted Rite ... ... ... ... ... 147 Secret Monitor ... ... •¦• ¦•¦ ... ... 147 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 14 S

An English View Of Freemasonry In America.

AN ENGLISH VIEW OF FREEMASONRY IN AMERICA .

We have in many previous articles remarked upon some of the more salient features of American Freemasonry , features which render it , if not in essentials , at all events in its working details so different from our own Masonry as to be almost a

system by itself . But we cannot call to mind that we have ever dealt with the peculiarities of American Masonry as a whole . We have written as wc have read—that is to say , whenever we have come upon anything in American official Masonic

literature which has struck us as being foreign to the true Masonic system , or what we believe to be such , we have made it the subject of friendl y criticism . Thus the phy . -ical qualification theory , in which so many of the American Grand Lodges put the

most absolute faith ; the doctrine of perpetual jurisdiction ; the question of non-affiliation to lodges , these and many other matters of greater or less importance have claimed a part of our attention whenever we have met with any declaration of

opinion as regards one or other of them in the Reports on forei gn Correspondence which are appended- to the Proceedings of the different Grand Lodges at their Annual ( - "mmunications . But , as we have said , we have

never attempted to deal with them as a whole , and it M '< ms to have been reserved for our worthy Bro . GEORGE " ¦ SPETH , Secretary of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge , to : i | iempt this formidable task , as he has done in a letter

Pressed , by request , to Bro . Wll . LlAM II . UP I ON , who has 'Werly discharged—and we have much pleasure in adding with ' -- ' eptional ability—the duty of Reporter on Correspondence in ) , li ; > lf of the Grand Lodge of Washington . This letter has

| ' ''i published , with an Introduction by Bro . UPTON , and a ' l'ies of "Notes by an American Mason" appended , and Unigli we cannot hope to deal with all the points which Bro _ 1 bkl IMIIWII

. (>_ j- ~ ~^ ...., ,...., ... v ^ £ ^ U | ( IJ | W | ^' ' ' -Tll has made the subject of friendly comment , we are glad 01 l'ie opportunity of exhibiting his concurrence with most of * (

lit' \ 'if » t » . « .... 1 1 . ~ ... v ' ' \ vs we have alread y expressed in the pages of the Free"I'tSOn

assing over that much of the letter which deals seriatim 1 a number of points laid down b y Bro . UP ION in his Wash-^ on Correspondence Report for last year , we find ourselves adopt ° d 1 b ) ' SU " remarks on the almost universal practice I ea b y American Grand Masters of recording in their

An English View Of Freemasonry In America.

annual addresses the decisions they have arrived at in respect of questions which have been officially submitted to their notice . On this , Bro . SPETH , addressing himself at once to the main

consideration , asks , not unnaturally , " What on earth does an American Grand Master want to be always giving decisions on some triviality for ? Why cannot such trumpery questions as most of them are be left to the trood sense and initiative of the

Lodges or their Masters ? Are they children that they cannot be allowed to act on their own judgment ? " In England , he says , the Master does as seems best to him , after consultation with the P . Ms , of his lodge , and only in very rare cases does the

matter go before the Board of General Purposes—and thence to Grand Lodge , but never to the Grand Master—and he adds" Nine-tenths of the puerilities which are submitted to your Grand Masters would never be heard of bevond the walls of

the particular lodge concerned . We are over legislated for enough in all conscience , but you do not seem to dare to call your souls your own without appealing to the Grand Master to corroborate the fact . " We are half inclined to follow Bro . SPETH ' S

example , and treat this question as he has done , jestingly , but \? e must not lose sight of the fact that years hence such of these decisions of the different Grand Masters as have been approved by their respective Grand Lodges will be regarded as having

the sanction of the law in their favour , and then—well , Heaven help the man who shall undertake the task of attempting to reconcile the decisions of all the brethren who have presided as Grand Masters over the 50 Grand Lodges now in existence in the Uuited States .

Upon the subject of Physical Qualifications Bro . SPETH delivers himself with equal boldness . " Fancy , " he says , " debarring a man from the purely intellectual and moral delights of Lodge life because he has had the misfortune to

lose the top joint of his little toe or finger , " and he remarks that a "bald man" is quite as physically imperfect as some that have been rejected in sundry American jurisdictions ; while as regards his query as to where the line between physical

perfection and imperfection should be drawn , we suggest , as we did some years ago , that it should be drawn at wooden heads . A wooden-headed man is not likely to be able to appreciate either the intellectual or moral beauties of Freemasonry . Another

point in American Masonry to which Bro . SPETH very justly takes exception is the largeness of many of the lodges . " What real comfort can there be , " he asks , " in a lodge of 200 , 300 , or 400 members ? What possibility of each member knowing , as

he should do , all the others ? What sociability ? " especially as in America , the brethren rarely sit down to refreshment after labour . As he very justly says , it is this after-refreshmentwhich is by no means costly—that gives the members " the

opportunity which is lacking during lodge hours , of becoming well acquainted with each other , " so lhat " each lodge is a little family to itself , and the main object of the Craft , good fellowship , is promoted . "

Many other matters which are dealt with peculiarly by the Craft in America are touched upon , such as non-affiliation , residence qualification , perpetual jurisdiction , & c , & c , but our Article has already run to considerable length , and we must

reserve such remarks as appear to us desirable on these further questions as well as on the criticisms set forth in the appended " Notes by an American Mason" for some more favourable opportunity , when the demands upon our space are not quite so overwhelming as they happen to be just now . In the