Freemasonry In France.

have been elected , without solicitation , to the post of Grand Master . Your delegates advocated the abolition , but they had not the power to carry it ; and as it became necessary for them , in obedience to the

Constitution , to elect a Grand Master , they conceived the idea to call temporarily to the office , one who would promise to assist them to use every exertion to carry into effect in the next Assembly the resolution which has been submitted .

Herein , dear brethren , lies the secret of my election . But if I am placed at your head under such exceptional circumstances , I am resolved to defer respectfully to the wishes of those who have elected

me ; and if it is my fate to be the last Grand Master of French Masonry , I shall not be any less impressed with the divers sentiments which I cannot find words to express—sentiments of gratitude for the great honour you have done me ,

and admiration of the spirit which you have exhibited , being unwillingly compelled to elect a Grand Master . You have elected one of the

most obscure and unworthy of your members , in order to show once for all that prejudices of birth , fortune , and dignity cannot exercise any influence over your decisions . What more is necessary to prove the tendency of Masonry in this respect than the simple enumeration of those who have held the office of Grand Master

duringthe present century ? First a king , Joseph Bonaparte ; next a prince of the blood , Murat ; a marshal of France , Magnan ; a general , Mellinet ; and now a mere provincial journalist . As I have mentioned the names of the Grand

Masters , it would be ungrateful in me , and you would not forgive me , if I neglect to pay homage to the distinguished qualifications of my predecessor and recount the services which he has rendered

to Masonry . It will be nothing new for me to declare that—a liberal and devoted Mason—General Mellinet has always interposed his authoiity in favour of our institution , and that his defence of the Order has had no mean share in

breaking down the prejudice which , in official quarters , has existed . Permit me , brethren , with all ^ deference to your rights , and without encroaching upon your prerogative , to advise you what will be , in my opinion ,

the most useful course in which to direct your labours . Under conviction that Masonry should always

march in advance of society , I would have Masona seriously study the problems of the social questions of the present day , of which the name alone is new , but under various appellations have in all ages agitated the noblest minds , displaying itself

more or less prominently according to the state of society . Is it not evident , my brethren , that there still exists a considerable amount of error , prejudice , injustice , and misery ? What could be a nobler

task for Freemasonry than to labour in order to destroy such error , prejudice , and injustice , and so offer solace to misery ? Its existence throughout the whole world places it in a position to wage a successful war with the numberless evils from

which humanity suffers . Understand me well , brethren . I do not advise you to form a clique nor to establish a party . None of us , as Masons , should express any opinion in politics or religion . Liberty of conscience , and

liberty of thought shall ever be inscribed amongst our laws , which are so deeply engraven in our hearts . Preserve well your liberty , and in the performance of your Masonic duties on all occasons endeavour to act for the promotion of the interests of the community in the midst of which you are placed . We should not fall into the error of an enervating and brutal

centralisation . The impulse may proceed from the Grand Orient , but each lodge must maintain its right to consider those questions which nearest concern her , in her own time , and after her own manner . We should not desire to see the life of the Order concentrated at one point , lingering death prevailing in all its

extremities . Each organ , if I may so speak , should fulfil its proper function , and the harmony of the Institution will not he destroyed . One example will illustrate my meaning . We are of one accord , upon the principle of free instruction ,

so clamorously advocated at the last assembly . Are we , iu order to effect this desideratum , to proceed in the same manner , and to employ precisely the same means to arrive at the same end ? Having for our chief care the spread of education , are we to adopt a

formulary and act mechanically upon all points ? Certainly not . It is their province to endeavour to promote the spread of instruction in their own districts . How great a difference exists between the population of the town and the country , between

manufacturing cities and agricultural districts . The most urgent wants must he met . Here it is lectures , there a library ; in another place professional instruction , in others again agricultural . In each the education should he appropriate to the varying conditions of those for whom it is provided .