The Secrets Of Freemasonry.

Knight Templar , " My Lord ; " aud of the elected Kinghts of Nine , " Necum . " It is only fair to the Order that I should repeat that the author of the book boils over in his hatred of the body , of which he must once have been a member : but may not , after nil . there be some grain of truth in the following sentences , with which I conclude my quotations from a work I havo read with somo interest and no little surprise ami wonderment . —'' Men enter this society in order to

advance themselves , and to secure tho objects of their Avorldly interest or ambition . Bound together by mutual oaths , they form a body of closest organisation , and out-manconvre , out-general , and out-bid every unmasonic candidate , no matter how fair his claim . They mix in the most friendly manner with all the members of their profession , business , station , & c . Yet by their secret organisation they do them every injustice . Mason helps Mason , and merit , friendship , and public welfare must bo over sacrificed to Masonry . "

Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Cor . respondents . We cannot undertake to velum rejected communications . All Letters must hear the name and address of the Writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith .

The Qualification For The Chair Of M.M.M.'S Lodges.

THE QUALIFICATION FOR THE CHAIR OF M . M . M . ' s LODGES .

To the Editor of THE FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —This matter should bo considered from the broad platform of principle , and not on the mere monetary ground of " Fees for Dispensations , " henco I wilfully ignored this 2 > haso of the case , as being foreign to tho basis upon Avhich the Avholo question shonld bo argued . By bringing this forward , "PAST GRAND WARDEN" has placed himself on the horns of a

dilemma , for either this qualification is right , and therefore no dispensation should bo granted , or , it is needless , and dispensations should not bo required . "PAST GRAND WARDEN" is , I cannot help thinking , most inconsistent and iiDiirgnmentative . Ho says , that tho rule as to qualification adds" dignity to the chair , " "as promoting a laudable ambition among those very members Avlumi your correspondent considers it shnta mil . "

Now , hero is a statement that is thoroughly unequivocal , aud upon this , I suppose , lie liases his advocacy for tho reteutiou of this rule ; and truly his position would be almost unassailable hacl ho started here—had he taken this as a hard aud fust line . Hue he demolishes his own argument iu tho next passage , for while asserting that , of course , this dignity is essentially necessary for tho chair of

the Mark , he proceeds forthwith to abandon his position by stating that there aro cases where this " dignity " can be dispensed Avithwhere , iu fact , it is a -Hou-csscntial ! In his own province , as D . P . G . M ., he instances one Lodge in which , fur four years in , succession , this rule of qualification would have kept brethren from the chair , unless this " salutary" "dignity" had been dispensed with ,

through dispensation from the Grand Master ! Nay , he goes even further , and gays that this year the S . W ., u : ho has not held office in the Craft , is " regularly elected , although the J . W . is a P . M . of long standing ! " Ancl now , to add the keystone to this confusion Averse confounded , ho says that a * ' position of honour loses value if made too easy of attainment . " What are wo to think of the argumont . of a Avritor who starts Avith

tho firm conviction that the qualification of a Craft P . M . is absolutely necessary—that hononrs should not be made too easy of attainment —that the "dignity" of a P . M . is essential—and who , Avith tho same pen , deliberately states that , as D . P . G . M ., ho has sanctioned the suspension of this rale—that he has consented to dispense Avith this dignity—and has , in fact , agreed to mako this " position of honour " most easy of attainment , ancl by ono Avho has never held office in the Craft ,

I can understand the advisability of retaining the right to grant dispensations in exceptionally exceptional circumstances , but to retain a law which is rendered nugatory by the frequent evasions to Avhich this ono is , exceptionally , subject , is simply puerile , and no stronger support could be given to my views than by the letter of" PAST GRAND WARDEN , " written ostensibly with tho object of

shelving this question , yet with tho actual result of making the hearts of those on my side of the house " leap for joy . " It is a pity that , after having apparently nailed his colours to the masts of" dignity , " "laudable ambition , " awl " honours made too easy of attainment , " ho should strike them in favour of such a small Craft as "fees for dispensations . " Pity that he is Avilling to

dispense with qualification iu every case where ifc cannot bo attained , ancl this for the enriching tho coffers of Grand Lodge by the uudignified fee of half a guinea ! Sacrifice principle for 10 s Gd , vio ' late what he considers to be a fundamental rule of the order of the honourable degree of M . M . for just One Hundred and Twenty-six pence—neither more nor loss ! Rather than accept the Mastership of their Lodge in this furtive

manner , in violations of a known law ( to he suspended only in extreme cases ) , I am sure the brethren of my Lodge would retire from the Wardenship to begin , dennvo , the round of office leading thereto . When "PAST GRAND WARDEN" has endeavoured to touch the arguments in my previous letter , I shall bo prepared to defend them ; till then , the mere reference to a way to evade this doomed rule of qualification , which he proves to be unnecessary , and which / hold to

The Qualification For The Chair Of M.M.M.'S Lodges.

be unjust , by systematic applications for dispensations , will not be deemed by mo to require paper , pen , or the time for using them . I cannot , however , help thanking "PAST- GRAND WARDEN" for showin .- ' how exceedingly weak and untenable is the position of those who

advocate tho retention of this qualification rule , and for the help that ho has , perhaps unwittingly , given to those who wish for no law that cannot bo rigidly enforced , still IPSS for ono Avhich "PAST GRAND WARDEN" has most unmistakably declared to be " more honoured in the breach than in the observance . "

I am , Dear Sir and Brother , Yours fraternally , A P . M . IN CRAIT AND MARK . 31 st December 18 ^ 8 . P . S . I havo only just been able to read P . G . W . ' s reply to my note

Is Charity Without Giving?

IS CHARITY WITHOUT GIVING ?

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —Being garrisoned logically in an impregnable fortress , as to my conclusive deduction , " that there can be no genuine charity without giving , " I feel invulnerably secure against all attacks of sophistry . But a logical formula may bo illustrated by the logic of facts .

My argument is , that there is no genuine charity without giving ; but there may be giving without genuine charity , as every excellence and virtue , as its counterfeit . This tlio learned Eev . Dr . Oliver and myself have tanght . No one in the whole courso of my ministry , nearly 30 years , ever heard mo teach , or knew me to write a syllable in favour of " indiscriminate charity . " That is a gratuitous

assumption . A greater than even Dr . Oliver has , nevertheless , taught , "That a man may give all his good to feed the poor , and even his body to be burned , nnd yet lack the true principle of charity . " But that scriptural statement is no argument for parsimony . The inquiry , " is charity giving ? " is in its form equivocal and delusive . It contains a fallacy which only trained logicians can

detect and expose—called in logical language fallacia a & jiur / oiMtionis ; or tho non-distribution of tho middle term . Now tho English word " charity , " is an ambiguous term , comprehending tho principle , which gives its origin , and tho effect of this principle in the human breast , which manifests itself in actions of benevolence . Iu other words , both the cause and effect of tho Divine principle , called

hivefor such is the meaning of tho Greek word agape . If a man has this Divine principle in his heart , the head will direct and the heart impel the hand irresistibly to the pocket to aid and relieve tho proper objects of humanity who , by whatever ties , have a claim on our sympath y aud support . In order to prevent a sophist parrying with truth , and a well-intentioned co-operator confounding tho genuine effect ,

or tho couuterfeit , Avith the cause , I put the question clearly and logically . Is there charity without giving ? Nay , is tho reply , because yon have the Divine principle , the necessary cause producing the genuine effect ; hut , Thero is giving withont charity—the spurious result of a defective

principle , known only lo Omniscience ; beyond tho province of man to judge , unless the actions be so patent that the principle or motive poAver is self-evident . There is , however , an authority thafc transcends tho writer , or even Dr . Oliver ; ifc is one very dear to Masons , tho aged and beloved

disciple , St . John . Let him decide tho controversy with those on whom th » conclusive force of logic has no effect . " But whoso hath this Avorld's goods , and seeth hia brother have need , and shntteth up his bowels of compassion from him , how d . weneth the lovo of God in him ? "

" My littlo children , let us not love in word , neither in tongue ; bufc in deed aud in truth , " 1 John iii . 17 , 18 . Some kind friend has correctly alluded to my labours in Clerkenwell , where I nearly lost my life iu public labours for the general good . Somo of my dearest friends I found there . But how could I have done any good there if charity was withont giving ? What

Avould havo been tho result of my teaching in the hovels of squalid poverty , disease , and death , unless charity resulted in discriminate giving ? How could I havo blessed the Avild juvenile , wild arabs walking iu the gutters , and rescued them from crime , without giving them the benefice of charity as well as spiritual instruction ? What Avould have been the result of my ministry if I could not have fed the hungry , and helped the widow and orphan ] , as well as the

sick aud dying , from bounty entrusted to me , even by otheis than thoso of my own communion ? Well , charity had a reflex influence in my case ; for , like its sister mercy , " it hath the npproba . tion of heaven and earth , for it blesses hi . n that gives , as well as ho who receives . " I had a gold watch presented to tne , and a purse of sovereigns amounting to £ 70 , to enable me to take np my degree at Cambridge as B . D .

Nor is this all . It was the kind expression of one of tho Masters of a Civic Company , when I was invited by him to dine at the City of Loudon Tavern , that , seeing my work at Clerkenwell , he onl y regretted thafc he was not the Premier to place me on tbe Episcopal Bench ; and this eulogy was pronounced in the presence of an M . P . and subsequent Lord Mayor of London , lint I aui uot going to write a panegyric on my own labours and enterprises ; bnt measures wero

taken to place me in a high position in my clerical profession , as the reward of merit , but , alas , my friends died . So that if I were cheered on in my laborious enterprises in ragged schools ancl refuges , to ameliorate the condition of mankind , and to repress crime by tho kindnessi , perhaps over kindness of my friends and patrons , as being a trump , I had to Irani with sorrow the changes and losses that death makes , and that he who may deserve the greatest success , may arrive within an ace to the winning post in the race of life . But I have