Contents.

CONTENTS .

LEADERS— FAGB . Freemasonry versus Christianity ... ... ... ... 353 Bro . Rev . J . S . Brownrigg , P . G . C . ... ... ... ... 353 An Extinct Lodge ... ... ... ... ... ... 354 Provincial Grand Lodge of North and East Yorkshire ... ... ... 354

Provincial Grand Lodge of Suffolk ... ... ... ... » - ... 355 Provincial Grand Lodge of Surrey ... _ ... ... ... ... 35 6 Provincial Grand Lodge of Hertfordshire ... ... .... ... 35 6 Provincial Grand Chapter of Surrey ... ... ,.. ... 357 Provincial Grand Mark Lodge of Cumberland and Westmorland ... ... 357 Summer Outing of the Peace and Harmony Lodge , No . 60 ... ... 357

MASONIC NOTESQuarterly Convocation of Supreme Grand Chapter ( Agenda Paper ) .., 359 Hungarian Freemasonry ... ... ... ... ... 359 Annual Meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Dsvon ... ... 359 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... 360 Reviews ... .... ... ... ... ... ... 360 Summer Outing of the Leopold Lodge , No . 1571 ... ... ... 3 C 0

An Oration ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 360 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 361 Royal Arch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 C 2 Mark Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 362 Supreme Grand Chapter of England ( Agenda Paper ) ... ... ... 362 The Re-opening of St . John's Church , West Chelsea ... ... ... 363 The Craft Abroad ... ... ... ... ... ... 363 Obituary ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 363 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 364

''Freemasonry Versus Christianity."

'' FREEMASONRY VERSUS CHRISTIANITY . "

It is not often that we have to reply to attacks made upon our Society by members of other reli gious sects than the Roman Catholics . For reasons of their own , which we shall not concern ourselves to make inquiry into the latter appeared to be

actuated by almost a deadly hatred of everything connected with Freemasonry . We have replied to their arguments—in our opinion and the opinion of many other people not unsuccessfully—in many previous articles , and as we have for some time

past been unable to discover anything new in what they allege against us , we are content for the most part with noting any fresh onslaught and then passing to other and more attractive matter . Last week , however , the Baptist—the organ of one of the numerous sects into which what is known as Protestant

Christianity is sub-divided—appears to have considered it its duty to attack us ; and as the attack is from a quarter which , rightly or wrongly , has been looked upon as not unfriendly , wc venture to offer a few remarks in reply .

The article is from the pen of a certain Mr . "WILLIAM FOSTF . R , F . S . S . A ., " who describes himself as the "Author of 'The

Subject Testament' & c . " \ V « : have not the honour of knowing anything about . Mr . "WILLIAM FOSTER , F . S . S . A , " or the work of which he is the author . Doubtless , he is . one of the

brilliant luminaries of Baptist Christianity , and we are quite prepared to believe that his dissertation on '' The Subject Testament " is little short of a marvel of enlightenment upon the matter it treats of . But conceding this much , as we do most

readil y , we clearl y see that he knows nothing whatever about - ' reemasonry ; he has picked up a few scraps of information from sources to which what we commonl y speak of as the '' profane world , " has no difficulty in addressing itself , and with

nothing to guide him but those few scraps , he has cast discretion to the four winds of heaven , and boldly ventured to attack Freemasonry for being what it is not , and what all who know anything about its character and principles ar ? perfectly well

•ware it has never claimed to be . Part I . of his article in the baptist of the 22 nd instant , is headed "The Religion of Freemasonry as opposed to the Christian Reli gion . " This clearly enoug h demonstrates to us that Mr . WILLIAM FOSTER . F . S . S . A ..

lor all his quotations from Masonic text books and other pubished works about Masonry , and however just may be his claims | o speak with authority upon Baptist Christianity , knows « le if anything , of the subject he has ventured to write

''Freemasonry Versus Christianity."

about . Freemasonry is not and has never since the day it became a speculative , as distinguished from an operative Society , claimed to be a religion . Liberal-minded men are generally willing to allow that a Society , whether religious or profane , may be

presumed to have some knowledge of its own character and the particular objects which its founders had in view when they established it , and Freemasonry has openly avowed itself to be " a system of morality , veiled in

allegory and illustrated by symbols . " It will be seen from this that in this precise definition of its own nature , Freemasonry lays no claim whatever to being anything in the nature of a religion . It has a religious basis—that is to say , no man can

rightly become a Freemason who does not believe in the existence of a Supreme Being and the immortality of the Soul . This is , and always has been , the fundamental principle by which our Society is governed . To go beyond this would be to destroy the

peculiar character of our Society , which was never intended to be anything else than an organisation to which men of every kind of religious faith were eligible to be admitted . The one and only prc-requisite condition as to the admission of a man into

our Society is that he declares himself a believer in the existence of a Supreme Being and a future state ; but it is forbidden to go further and inquire as to the form which that belief has assumed . Freemasonry , as a Society , supplies the neutral ground on which

all men , whatever may be the form their religious faith may assume , can meet and discharge those duties of reverence and respect for GOD and love for their neighbours which devolve on all men in common . It is absurd to argue ,

as Mr . WILLIAM FOSTER attempts to do , that " Freemasonry is a religion without Christ , " because it does not proclaim itself to be a Christian Society ; or that it is " opposed to Protestantism , " because it is not continually protesting against the

dogmas of Roman Catholicism . If it did either the one or the other , ft would , so far as religion is concerned , at once destroy its character . It is absurd for a person to make an assertion

which is not only incapable of proof , but at the same time directly opposed to the facts as they are known . We say , again , as we have said before , that Freemasonry is not , and was never intended to serve as a rclio-ion . It is what it has declared itself

to be , a system of morality , based on what is the fundamental principles of all religious faiths , that is to say , on belief in the existence of God . It is neither Christian , nor anti-Christian ;

Jewish , nor anti-Jewish ; Mohammedan , nor anti-Mohammedan ; it respects all religions , but inculcates the doctrines of none ; and those who affirm to the contrary , affirm what is directly opposed to the spirit and principles of Freemasonry .

Bro. Rev. J. S. Brownrigg, P.G.C.

BRO . REV . J . S . BROWNRIGG , P . G . C .

Last week we announced or had occasion to refer to the vacation of three important positions in Craft Masonry , each of which lias been occupied by the retiring brother for quite a long term of years . The most important of the three cases was that of

Bro . Lord SUI-I'IRLD , who after serving as Prov . G . Master of Norfolk since April , 18 7 6 , has , on the score of health and for other reasons , seen fit to retire from active duty though , as his lordship stated in makingthe announcement , " itwouklgivehimthe

greatest possible pleasure to come as often as possible amongst them in an unofficial capacity . " The second case was that of Bro . his Honour Judge PlIILBRlCK , Q . C ., who since the latter part of Bro . Lord TENTERDEN ' S Prov . G . Mastership of Es . setv v