Masonry Among The Negroes.

this , but to show how much foundation there is for the claim that ciphers and keys when printed by Grand Lodge are carefully guarded , that we print the following extract from a private letter , dated March 1895 , from one of their prominent members , a ( coloured ) P . G . M . of Ohio , and a man of unquestionable veracitv .

" We work all of the rituals of the ( white ) Grand Lodges , Grand Chapters , and Grand Commanderies of the United States . The revised rituals ( the printed secret work ) of the ( white ) Grand Lodge of Ohio were in our hands before they were received by manv of their own Lodges . The revised ritual of the General

Grand Chapter , as revised and promulgated at Denver , has been in our Chapters for over eighteen months . We have also the entire new rituals of the Templar Orders , which , as you know , only went into operation in January 1894 . " —Bro . Wm . H . Upton , of Wash ., in " Canadian Craftsman . "

Caste In Masonry.

CASTE IN MASONRY .

A MASON is obliged by his tenure to obey the moral law ; and if he rightly understand the art , he will never be a stupid Atheist , nor an irreligious libertine . He of all men should best understand that God seeth not as man seeth ; for man looketh at the outward appearance , but God looketh to the heart . A Mason is , therefore , particularly bound never to act against the

dictates of his conscience . Let a man ' s religion or mode of worship be what it may , he is not excluded from the Order , provided he believe in the Glorious Architect of heaven , and earth , and practice the sacred duties of morality . . ( Antient Constitutions ) .

We believe that the time has now come for a very serious enquiry into the question , —Are caste Hindus really eligible for admission into our Order ? And in the second place , if they are strictly speaking eligible , is it advisable that they should be

admitted into our Order , and permitted to rise even to the chair of first Principal in a Chapter of the Holy Royal Arch ? The whole question is an extremely difficult one , and we will endeavour to discuss the question without wounding the delicate susceptibilities of those who are already enrolled in our Order .

The whole question lies in a nutshell . Can a Polytheistic Caste Hindu , one who worships a variety of idols , one who looks down with scorn and contempt upon all those beneath him in caste , one who will not even eat or drink with his Brethren m Masonry , be a true and consistent Mason ?

Let us discuss the question of Polytheism first . What is the Hindu religion ? Can it be said to inculcate that fundamental principle of Masonry , the Unity of God ? On the contrary , Hinduism is a complicated system of idolatry . It is Polytheistic , that is , its devotees worship an innumerable host of gods . An

educated native may profess in general terms that he believes in a Single First Cause , but in practice what is he ? He must be either a sincere believer in the particular swami whose mark he places upon his face ; or he must be a mere formalist , performing religious rites and ceremonies which in his heart he despises .

At the commencement of the ceremony of initiation , a Hindu candidate is asked a certain question . He replies ( prompted by the Deacon , for otherwise he would never guess the answer ) , "In God . " To whom does he refer ? His faith gives him no glimpse of an All Father , a Single First Cause , an Almighty God . To whom does he refer ? To Rama ? Vishnu ?

Shiva ? Hanuman ? How can he solemnly profess a belief in a God whom he does not know , and to whom he gives no worship ? A Jew can unhesitatingly affirm his belief in One God , Jehovah . The Mussalman and the Parsi can do the same . Christians , whether European or Native , can assert a belief in a " Unity in Trinity . " But for a Vedic Hindu to do this is contrary to all the teachings of his sacred books .

We have no hesitation in affirming that the admission of Polytheistic Idolaters was never dreamed of as possible by our Brethren until a very short time ago . And next with reference to caste . We will here quote the words of Wor . Bro . E . G . Papell P . M . of Lodge Social Friendship , No . 326 , who wrote an

article on this very subject to a Madras Masonic paper nearly fifty years ago . At that date the admission of a Caste Hindu was almost unheard of . He says : " Again putting aside their soul-destroying religion , look at that other mind debasing blot upon them , —Caste ! It may be objected by a few who would

gladly see Masonry receive into its bosom these sons of India , that enlightened Hindus do not believe in this monstrous array of false deities , but simply in One Supreme Creator and Preserver of Heaven and Earth ; that , in fact , they treat the dogmas of Brahmiuical religion with sovereign contempt , regarding their

falsely called sacred books , the Vedas , Puranas and Shasters , as a heap of cunningly devised fables , as—less than dirt . Perhaps they do ; but do they not run to the other more reprehensible extreme of Atheism ? And whilst their mouths profess a belief in One Supreme , - their hearts loathe the doctrine , cleaving to that

Caste In Masonry.

of Voltaire , Payne , Carlile—the demoniac revolutionists of the French Revolution at the close of the last century , and the degraded self-insulting , young alumni of Bengal of the present hour !" " With all their enlightenment , have they thrown off Caste ? Have the streams of western knowledge so liberally poured into

their minds enabled them to stand forward , one and all , and in the face of day , regardless of the impotent malice of those whose interest it is to keep alive this incubus , 'Caste , ' declare the ' Natural equality of man , ' and boldly denounce and renounce their bigotry ? NO . And why ? Because it suits them ,

the alumni of this peninsula , to keep up any meretricious distinction , or false superiority they may happen to have by virtue of caste , over the mass of their countrymen ; because it is their interest to ride it roug'h shod over their poor contemned contemporaries . '"

" Masonry is a system of rational equality , and teaches us that ' all men by nature are equal ! ' that distinctions are worldly but not inherent ; all brought about by the force of circumstances , not by their existence in our bone , blood and flesh , that one man

is as good in the sight of God as another , for He is the maker of all ; His spirit is breathed into their nostrils ; they are all of the dust formed by Him , and to the dust , the same common destined dust , will all return by this decree . Now , neither the Hindu nor Caste Christian holds this doctrine .

" From what has been said , this conclusion may be naturally arrived at with regard to natives ; that is , Hindus , viz ,, Polytheistic Hindus are not admissible into Masonry ; neither are Deistic Hindus so long as they uphold ' Caste '—which is inimical to ' natural equality , ' so that of all the Hindus none can be permitted to a participation of the glorious mysteries and privileges of the noblest of all human societies but Anti-Caste Christians , or true Deists : "—E . G . Papell P . M . 326 .

These are strong words , but who shall say that Bro . Papell was not right . What has been the result of opening our doors to Caste Hindus ? Can anyone say that Masonry has benefitted by it ? Do our Hindu Brethren treat us as Brethren ? They flock into Masonry in large numbers . Some out of mere curiosity , some with the motive of obtaining social distinction ,

or the approval of Masons in high places . Here and there a Hindu Brother has risen to comparative eminence in the Craft ., But take them as a body , what have they done for the good . of Masonry ? It is not possible for them to practice at home w , hat they profess in Lodge . High-sounding words about Brotherly love , equality , & c , & c , are easily uttered with the lips . But

their practical realisation in every-day life is not possible to the Caste Hindu . Should such men be admitted ? And if admitted ought they to be advanced to that most sacred and mysterious degree , the Holy Royal Arch ? In anticipation of the torrent of fluent English which will be poured upon us in answer to this article , we will ask our Hindu Brethren to answer two plain questions : 1 st , Do you believe in one Supreme Being , and if so ,

how do you prove your belief from your sacred writings , and make it square with your polytheistic practice ? 2 ndly , Do you believe in the Brotherhood of man ? And if so , why do you consider yourself polluted by receiving food at the hands of a Brother Mason ? Answer these two plain questions , native Brethren , and do not waste words in beating about the bush , and in raising up a host of side issues . ICONOCLAST , in " Indian Masonic Review . "

Are they Freemasons ? The Vienna correspondent of the " Daily Telegraph , " writing on the subject of " Life in Macedonia " says there is a curious custom existing among the Macedonians which is called Pobratimstvo , or Act of Fraternisation . It is not quite the same as bessabess , which may be concluded by a Mohammedan with a Christian , and is of

Shkipetar or Albanian origin . Pobratimstvo is a relic of old heathenism now characteristic of Christians only . Two intimate friends resolve to love and defend each other as if they were genuine brothers . They eat bread and salt together , drink from the same glass wine ( or rakiya ) , into which a few drops of the blood of each has been infused ; then they kiss , embrace , and

rise up as Brethren for ever after . The friends of the one are friends of the other , and if one be assassinated the other is bound by all laws to take the life of his murderer . There are other usages that are likewise religiously preserved by the Christian Slavs there , most of fchem relics of the curious , gay , poetic Paganism which formed the basis of their religion before the introduction of Christianity . More than once the

Serbs , many of whose customs and folk-songs are identical with those of the Macedonians , undertook to prove chat the latter must be Serbs , because of the ceremony of Krsno ime , which is , they say , a characteristic of the Servian people only . But the argument is worth nothing , for all the southern Slavs had one language and one religion when they first became known to history .