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CONTENTS . PAGE . L EADERSChristianity and Freemasonry ... ... ... ... ... 46 ; The Province of Devonshire ... ... ... ... ... 464 United Grand Lodgeof England ( Agenda ) ... ... ... ... 464 Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons ( Agenda ) ... ... ... 465 The Family of Grand Lodges ... ... ... ... ... 465 Tt . » \ f-iecarhiisp . tts Lrukre . 1770—ISQ- ; ... ... ... ... A 66

Laying the Foundation Stone of a New Masonic Hall ... ... ... 467 Christianity and Freemasonry ... ... ... ... ... 467 Freemasonry a Power ... ... ... ... ... ... 467 M ASONIC N OTESQuarterly Communication of United Grand Lodge ... ... ... 46 9 fTnarrerlv Communication of Grand Lodee of Mark Master Masons ... 460

Proposed Removal of the Boys'School ... ... ... ... 4 P 9 Provincial Grand Lodge of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight ... ... 469 Commemoration of the Goth Year of Her Majesty's Reign ... ... 4 6 9 Death of Bro . G . Mellor , P . S . G . D . ... ... ... ... 46 9 The 41 st Annual Meeting of the Grand Lodge of Canada ... ... 4 G 9 Risht to Warrant Lodsres outside its Territorial Limits by Grand Lodge of

Victoria ... ... ... ... ... ... 4 6 9 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... 470 Consecration of the Mark Lodge of Caldene , No . 501 , Hebden Bridge , Yorkshire ... ... ... ... ... ... 47 ° Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 471 Obituary ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 472 Lodge of Instruction ... ... ... ... ... ... 472 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 474

Christianity And Freemasonry

CHRISTIANITY AND FREEMASONRY

We reproduce elsewhere a letter which appeared in the Church Times of tlie 14 th instant , on the subject of " Christianity and Freemasonry . " Thc writer , who signs himself "OFFEIRIAD , " lakes as his text the proposal that was made some time since to

the effect that " a gathering of clerical and lay Freemasons might well be included among the informal function of the

Church Congress week . " Ol-TraRfAD , however , is not only opposed to any such gathering being so included , but is of opinion that " all English Churchmen would surely do well to refuse to countenance it ( Freemasonry ) in thc slightest degree

lhat there are already good Catholics in the Fraternity is a hindrance to the Faith . " How he has managed to arrive at this extraordinary conclusion , is a marvel to us . We agree with him that a considerable section of " Continental Freemasonry "—not

the . whole of it , as he affirms— " is well known to be the rallying point of all those forces which are hostile to Christianity , ancl is ri ghtly and virtually under the ban of the Church in those countries which own allegiance to the Roman see . " As he

stales , and our readers know , our Grand Lodge has severed all connection with the Grand Orient of France , in consequence of the elimination some years since from its Constitutions of that Article of Faith to be subscribed by all Masons of belief in God

¦ i »(! the immortality of the soul . There are also other Grand Orients with which the Masons of England do not exchange representatives , and the not unreasonable inference is that those "vewise are to a greater or less extent tarred with the same

a | ui-reIig ious brush . But our Grand Lodge is in alliance with ° se of Germany , Denmark * , Sweden and Norway , Greece , and " ¦ cr European countries ; because it is a fact , beyond dispute , the Masonry practised , as well as professed , by them has

-. une religious basis as ours . He is , therefore , perfectly justif lc < * m admitting "that English Freemasonry is totally different " ni that section of Continental Freemasonry from which we ' /• • openl y separated , or with which we arc not 011 terms of . - But here our agreement : with him ends . He evidently

s but little about English Freemasonry , and for this reason fro ' "" J " ** - * - would have become him better if he had abstained as ,, n g ' llto print and laying down the law so absolutely ¦ in * - , '" ° ^ conduct English Churchmen should or should

" wl * i ° ' towar ( ^ our Society . He is desirous of learning p c ier the separation between English and Continental masonry is more than merel y nominal . " To this query we

Christianity And Freemasonry

are in a position to answer unreservedl y that it is ; thc more so , that we have a vivid recollection of the case of Sir ROBERT STOUT , who , four or five years since , was deprived of his rank and privileges in Freemasonry for having been a party to the

establishment in New Zealand of a lodge with a warrant from thc Grand Orient of France . Whether all the atheistic lodges of the Continent are under the same ban we are not in a position to say . We have already pointed out that there are other Grand

Orients in Europe with which our Grand Lodge has never troubled itself to exchange representatives , but neither our Grand Lodge authorities nor we are able to determine whether all lodges in those countries with which we have no Masonic

intercommunication are theistic or atheistic , any more than it is in the power of the heads of the Romish and Anglican Churches to determine whether all who profess Christianity according to the tenets of the one or the other of those Churches are trul y Christian . It is

enough for us that our Grand Lodge will have nothing to do with that section of Continental Masonry which has openly and avowedly declared itself to be nonreligious ; nor , where we have done all in our power to

dissociate ourselves from those who have eliminated belief in God and a future state from the articles of their Masonic faith do wc feci that we are called upon to give further guarantees that we are a non-sectarian religious body . But , inquires

" ' OFKEIKIAD , " have the Welsh lodges followed the example of the English ? To this we reply , that as the Welsh lodges derive their warrants from the Grand Lodge of England , of which , indeed they are constituent members , it follows as a matter of

course that they are bound equally with the English lodges by thc edicts of our Grand Lodge . But , proceeds this most inquisitive of correspondents , " Even if they have repudiated the atheistic lodges , is the separation so complete that an

English Mason would not be bound to recognise and assist a Continental Mason ? " The question is an absurd one . If we repudiate what he calls "thc atheistic lodges , " it is impossible for us to recognise the members as Masons , seeing that

repudiating and not recognising people as members of any fraternity are equivalent terms . If , however , he intends asking if an English Mason is bound to assist a man of some other

nationality who calls himself a Mason ancl is in distress , it is impossible for our answer to be otherwise than most uncomplimentary to his sense of manhood . Whether we are Masons or

non-Masons , Christians or non-Christians , it is our duty to assist a fellow who is in distress . We find him in need , and we give him what we can , without inquiring as to his religion or morals . All men are under an obligation to do this , and therefore , such a

deed must tell not against Freemasonry , but in its favour . But if " Ol-TEJKIAD ' . S" question is simply as to whether we are bound to recognise and assist the Continental Mason in his crusade against religion and constituted authority , have we not already

said that our repudiation of him as a Mason is a guarantee that , having no sympathy whatever with him and his works , we are not likely to aid and abet him in his evil designs ? As for the penultimate paragraph of his letter , we are unable

to see the force of the example he furnishes in the sentence" For example , a Christian Mason is able to render aid to one only of two equally necessitous persons , who have asked his aid , the one as a Freemason ( non-Christian ) the other as a Christian .

Here is the material for a very pretty dilemma . He is constrained to sin or to break his Masonic obligation . " We fail to see where the dilemma comes in in the example he has selected . A man who is a Christian and a Mason does what he can towards