The Grand Secretary.

was held , which was oAving principally to his having waited the settlement by the Grand Lodge of England , of the cpiestion of his jurisdiction over Lodge Yictoria , Bangoon . He had only recently learnt privately from the W . Master of that lodge , that the wan-ant of constitution had been received , with the necessary authority to work under this Prov . G . Lodge . The . & . W . Prov . G . that

Master could not hot empress his great dissatisfaction no communication- of this aidhoriiy hacl heen made to Mm hy the Grand Secretary , and , also that the warrant of constitution- of Lodge jEmulation , Ncgapaiam , vjhich had heen applied-for more than a year ago , laid not yet heen received . He stated that these matters would form the subject of a communication from himself to the M . W . Grand Master . "

Freemasonry And Its Opponents.

FREEMASONRY AND ITS OPPONENTS .

. It appears that the recent ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the Devonport ancl Cornwall Hospital , at Devonport , by the Earl of Mount Edgecumbe , and the Ereemasons of the district , has given rise to some feelings of jealousy amongst other branches of the community , which is venting itself

through the columns of the local press , and accordingly , in the Western Horning JVews , published at Plymouth on the 10 th inst ., we find the following Incubation in a letter to the editor— -to which our attention has been called by some brefchren of the province : — THE MORAL ASPECT OF MODERN MASONRY AND ITS EMPTY PROFESSION OF UNIVERSAL BENEYOLENOE .

Sir , —You have lately admitted sereral letters into your columns on the subject of Freemasonry , Avhich for the next fortnight is likely to attract some notice amongst your readers , from the prominence iuto Avhich the members of the craft have managed to force themseh'cs in connection with laying the corner stone of our neAV Hospital .

I should be glad if you could find room for a feAV extracts from an article bj' the late Bishop Armstrong ( formerly connected AA'ith this diocese ) , and AA'hich Avell illustrate the " history and modern state of Freemasonry . " My first and introductory extract shall be one ivhich gives a view of the external state of the society at the present day : andconcludes with a-statement ( which all

. but free and accepted Masons will hold as being perfectly true ) , respecting its moral aspect . The extracts AA'hich I propose to send you Avill not bo linsuited to your columns , as eA'en if they should provoke a little controversy ( fco AA'hich by the AA'ay I have yet to learn that neAVS ] 3 aper editors are averse ) , they exhibit a peculiar power of elucidating a grave subject , with

playful and graphic humour . " Among the multitude of convivial advertisments which reveal the associative tendencies of an appetite , some will be found to proceed from a body which garnishes itself Avith the title of ' the free and accepted Massons . ' By these epithets they distinguish themselves rom the common herd of masons , those plain , drudging ,

hard-Avorking men , A-fho do nofc play afc their trade Avith silver trowels and kid gloves . Of masons , this building age knows and sees enough ; of Freemasons it knows and sees but little . It is neither the wiser nor the better for their existence , they are nob to be seen performing any useful work , neither are thoy like moles , which , though they themselves arc out of sightj throw up from their hidden chambers visible tokens of their toils . "The strongest microscope would fail to discover the

Freemasonry And Its Opponents.

minutest grain or particle of good which the Freemasons confer upon mankind . The body , with all its invisible action , is as utterly useless to the world at large as a clock would be to its OAA'ner which Avent Avheeling and ticking on , with all its busy machinery , after tbe amputation of its hands . " Were the fraternity to dissolve itself to-morrow , and , to the of this

appease common sense practical age , to make a hecatomb of their aprons , the world would be unconscious of the dissolution , except for the unsavory smoke of the leathern sacrifice ! " The energies of our countrymen are too often devoted to dinners to make any succession of feasts , however excellent , shed fame on the festive brotherhood . It is

possible that many associations need to have their axletrees oiled Avith an annual feast , to carry them through the wear and tear of a year ' s life . A dinner in this country appears to exercise a galvanic influence on the the constitution of societies ; but Avith Avhatever warmth of expectation it may be looked to through the vista of working monthsit isafter allthe rewardthe

refresh-, , , , ments , and not the work of societies . "Every society , esceptthe Freemasons ' , has something to do ; but this , entertaining the notion of freedom Avhich has been so thoroughly impressed on the popular mind in all ages , aud Avhich makes it consist in having nothing to do , shevfs that its members are ' free' in this sense of the word , Avhether they are ' accepted' or not . "

The good bishop then goes on to give his view of the moral aspect of the society , Avhich he does in the following Avords : —¦ "And yet the Freemasons profess to have au object . It is certainly vague , so vague as to involve no trouble , so ingeniously vague thafc even an increase of dinners might be regarded as one means of attaining it . " Universal benevolence is their aim ; they would have lodges from pole to pole : The true Mason ( says one of their greatest Avriters ) , is a citizen of the world ; his

plilantrophy extends to all the human race . * * * The distant Chinese , the wild Arab , the American savage , will embrace a brother Briton . Over and over again we hear of universal benevolence ; it meets us at every turn . Now Ave know nothing easier than the profession of benevolence , especially of universal benevolence : the Avider it is the easier it is ; for as one doss not meet wild

Arabs every day on Hampstead Heath , nor Chinese in Piccadilly , those who CIAA ' CII in such regions may easily offer to embrace them Avithout much risk ; and after all , if such benevolence leads to nothing more tangible and definite than embracing , there would be no great difficulty , though , perhaps , a little unpleasantness in clasping an American savage in our arms .

" Universal benevolence must end in profession ; it cannot be carried out ; Ave cannot ask all the world to dinner ; where our sympathy extends to all the human race , Ave know not , as a matter of practice , Avhere to begin . The moment AVC fix our minds upon some particular people , or upon some particular course of action , the universal has sunk in tho particular . So wide a

circle as the world , so A ast a waist is difficult practically , though very easily theoretically , to span ; our feelings may circumnavigate the world ; but Avhen we come to practical charity , Ave find ourselves tethered to some particular post , ancl moving in a narrow round . " Tho sympathy of your universal philanthropists is gloriously obscure , indefinite , impracticable , and cheap ;

it may be indulged after dinner in an easy chah ' , on a winter ' s night , by a blazing firo , the curtains drawn , — consisting of a i ' oAV rather comfortable sighs for the poor folks out of doors ; they cannot house all the world , nor mount all the Arabs , nor give oil to all the Esquimaux , nor feather all the Indians . Such gigantic feelings end commonly in Liliputian actions . " Ifc is so with the Freemasons . A dinner or two ends the matter , where all the visitors of the AA-orld may come —if thoy can !