Uniformity Of Ritual.

Masons ai * e beginning to inquire for the knowledge that , during the ceremonies , they are pledged not to divulge , and nowhere can they obtain satisfactory answers . The Grand Lodge does not pretend to possess any of the mysteries , and now

it is confessed that the Grand Lodge does not know what is the proper ritual . The Duke of Sussex when he was Grand Master , often expressed an opinion that there were important secrets connected with Masonry , and this he knew by virtue

of his office ; what they were he knew not . The present Grand Master does not believe there are any mysteries veiled under the symbols and allegories , and has expressed himself that Masonry is merely a charitable Institution . Beautifully is it set

forth" When thou doest alms , let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth .- that thine alms may be in secret . " Though charity should be without ostentation , nevertheless it does not require obligations to be

offered on bended knee , in order to become members of a secret charitable society . Nor does public charity deserve so heavy a penalty . Cannot a man constitutionally give relief to a fellow creature without having undergone the ordeals incurred at the time of initiation .

The object of Masonry originally was evidently to promulgate oral knowledge of some kind among a certain class of men , the knowledge must have been most valuable , or the obligations regarding secrecy would have been unnecessary . That it

was classic or scientific is evident , for none but scholars who could write their own names could be admitted into the Order . On the ceiling of the old Grand Lodge in Queen-street , were the pictured constellations of the zodiac , ancl the

celestial and terrestrial globes were part of the furniture . The Building Committee destroyed the celestial land marks , and the " heathenists pictures " are no longer to be gazed at by initiated brethren . Astronomy Avas the matrix of

knowledge . Whenever educated men congregated , any initiated brother could commune with them and receive brotherly welcome , the certificate proved that the holder was worthy of the confidence of the chief rulers , and might be trusted .

The certificate wa . s a powerful letter of introduction . What it has now become , ask any colonial brother . It is proposed , and certainly it would be

desirable , that there should be one system of working but before the committee proceed to business it would be advisable to apply to the Grand Lodges of Ireland and Scotland for their co-operation in deciding upon some regular code of ceremonies

which should be universal . As matters now stand , the committee are to decide on the proper working . But what lodge is to be selected as pattern for all the others ? What is to be the test to decide the established mode ? Are the W . M . ' s of England

to present themselves before the committee for examination as to their " respective systems of working ? " Are the 350 Colonial lodges to send their Masters to England for instruction ? Superior as English Masons fancy themselves , it is

questionable whether the committee could do better than search the Antipodes for a pattern lodge for English Masons . For instance , Masonry in New

South Wales and Tasmania is of the old schoolprobably not the least alteration has taken place in the working for the last fifty years . Brethren there do not constitute a Masonic trading society . Brethren there have no expectation , nor do they

desire any of the bribes of cheese parings or sops in the pan from the Grand Lodges under whose warrants they are working . Suppose the committee come to a decision as to what is constitutional Masonry ; in what manner is it to be made

known , and in what way are the precepts to be enforced . Are printed circulars to be forwarded ? If so , what about the O . B . ? Had Mark Masters retained their primitive duties , the ordinances of the Grand Master could have been made known

throughout the world without the least danger of discovery by the uninitiated . But the Grand Lodge , in its wisdom , does not acknowledge the Mark Master ' s degree ! It has been shown under the " Masonic Celestial

Mysteries , " that theoretical Masonry is pictoral astronomy , and that modern operative Masonry is derived from celestial Masonry . This has been certified to be true by one of the chief officers of the Grand Loclge . Why then not fully examine

and test tbe celestial laws by which the Masonic mysteries are interpretable , aud if they were so tested the differences of opinion as to what the ritual ought to be would be at an end : and by a new character for the Mark degree , the true

knowledge might be promulgated to every lodge on the earth ' s surface . Masonry would then be a universal system of morality , veiled in allegory ^ and illustrated by symbols .