Correspondence.

sums are given by other members of the Cathedral body . Truly your correspondent is well informed as to the mercenary greed and total indifference to public opinion displayed by its rulers . Judging from " Another P . M . ' s" letterwe are to

, conclude that the time has not yet come for the laity to contribute to the completion of our great Metropolitan Cathedral ; yet strange to say the great public companies of London seem to think differently , and without consulting my brother P . M . have ventured to give their mite . The Grocers' Company has given

£ 2 , 000 , the Mercers' £ 1 , 000 , and others , no doubt , will follow their noble example . Let us hope that the Grand Lodge of England will not be behind in showing that it also is not unmindful of its old traditions , for it would be a pity if it should come to be said that true Masonry is practised only

in the provinces . Yours fraternally , M ., 31 ° , P . M . [ We agree with this writer , and cordially recommend the subject to the consideration and support of ¦ the brethren . —ED . F . M . AND M . M . ]

Mark Master Jewels.

MARK MASTER JEWELS .

10 THE 3 DIT 0 E Or TUB BIEEMASOITS' HAGAZIJfE AND MASOKIO MIBHOB . Dear Sir and Brother , —A question has arisen among some members of our lodge as to the right of a Master Mason to wear on his breast , in open lodge , any Masonic jewel he may choose to purchase—as , for instancethe S and Compassesor a Five-pointed

, quare , Star ? Never having attended the meetings of any European lodge , I am unable to speak from personal experience as to the custom prevailing there ; but believing that in lodge all Master Masons are equal , J fail to perceive by what right a wealthy brother

should appear there decorated with jewels and emblems to which he has no other right than that of purchase , thereby putting in the shade many a poorer though possibly more accomplished and deserving brother , whom lack of funds alone debar from appearing with such decorations . The only exception , as I understand , is where jewels have been presented by a lodge as a body to a brother for exceptional services rendered to that lodge or the Craft generally .

I know that in a lodge every brother should appear in full Masonic costume , and believe that any addition or omission is equally to be deprecated . That part of the Book of Constitutions referring to the regalia does not bear upon the point in question , and I have failed to discover any clause that does . Therefore

my appeal to you . Yours fraternally , WM . P . GUNNELL , W . M . Gold Coast Lodge , No . 773 . Cape Coast , Western Africa , 22 nd July , 1870 .

Masonic Sayings And Doings Abroad.

MASONIC SAYINGS AND DOINGS ABROAD .

The Grand Lodge of Indiana has published a special pamphlet , containing its resolutions of non-intercourse with France , adopted May 26 th , 1870 , in which a clear and complete history of the difficulty is given , and it is resolved that the cause of the Grand Lodge of Louisiania be recognised as the cause of the Grand

Lodge of Indiana , and of the Masonic World ; that the jurisdiction of Louisiana must be imperatively upheld , and all Masonic intercourse with the Grand Orient of France and its subordinates be dissolved .

The following letter was written by M . W . Bro . Gardner , Grand Master of Massachusetts , in response to a communication from the Grand Master of Kentucky , inviting a meeting of Grand Masters to consider the question on the Cuban affair : —

" In responding to this proposition , permit me to say that I have received no information of the enormities committed by the Spanish authorities upon lodges and members of our Order , save what I have seen in the public newspapers of the day . I am

aware , from correspondence a few years since with with some of the Craft in Cuba , that the Masonic fraternity was prohibited by law in that island , and that it was necessary for the safety of the brethren there to make use of assumed names . I certainly

sympathise with all , whether in Europe or America * against whom despotism has been exercised by government , and I should be willing to extend them every aid and assistance which as Masons or as citizens we could command .

" But difficulties , most perplexing in in their character , present themselves when we attempt to redress their wrongs . We can wage no warfare against governments which have declared the institution of Freemasonry hostile to the peace and tranquillity of their countries . We can embroil our own country in

no contest because members of an institution with which we are associated have organised and formed lodges in violation of the law to which they are subject . We can in vain ask the interference of our own government , except in those instances where

American citizens have been subjected to punishment . "In the case of the atrocities at Cuba , do we know anything of the facts ? In times of persecution , such as now exist in Cuba , it is not unusual for revolutionists to prostitute the institution of Freemasonry

to their own purposes , and to invoke its organisation and machinery to carry out their schemes . The history of other revolutions , especially those in the cause of freedom and liberty , has charged that not only did Masonry aid and abet the revolutionary movements , but that the Masonic lodges were the cradles in which those revolutions were rocked . It is needless for me