Last Gavel Stroke Of Frederick The Great.

LAST GAVEL STROKE OF FREDERICK THE GREAT .

SELECTED FROM THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE QTJATUOR CORONATI LODGE , BY BRO . G . W . SPETH HON . SEC .

"" flilREDERICK'S initiation as Crown Prince of Prussia has JL ? otten been told , and much has been written about the " Royal Lodge" which he constituted , and over which ( at

times ) he presided in the Palace at Potsdam . 1 he following is alleged to have taken place at one , if not the last , meeting at which as " G . Master , " the King presided : —Shortly atter the close of the second bilesian war , frince Kaunitz , the Minister of

Maria Theresa , opened a correspondence with Major-General G . C . von Wallrawe , Chief of the Engineer Corps , and induced him to betray " the plans of the fortress ot Neisse . The correspondence with the Minister ( of the Queen ) was discovered in the post and unassailable proof of the betrayal laid before the King in the shape of a certain letter from Wallrawe to

Kaunitz . Wallrawe was not only a man whom the King had personally trusted , and trusted as an intimate friend , he was also a member of the Royal Lodge , and Frederick saw himself betrayed in every quality , as King , as friend , and as a Mason . The Lodge had not been called together for four years , but

after full consideration the King ordered it to be summoned once more for the ioth of February 1748 , at Potsdam . At the conclusion of the proceedings the Royal Master spoke as follows : — " One ot the Brethren here present has offended against the laws of the Craft , his duty to the State , his oath , his

fealty and gratitude to me as his Worshipful Master and King , and deserves death . As King I do not want to know it , as Master f would wish to pardon him , as a Brother I desire to give him my hand and help him to raise his fallen self , and as a man I will forget the past . I only demand that he shall

acknowledge his crime here and now repent . In this case everything shall be strictly kept among ourselves , and never again mentioned . Should , however , he be silent , and not seize the pardon here offered to him , then I must point out to him that , as ' Master , ' I shall feel obliged , on account of his acts , to close

this Lodge forever , and as King and ruler of this realm to hand him over to justice . " The Brethren were naturally much disconcerted ; but as Wallrawe had no previous suspicion that his treason was discovered , no reply was made . The King repeated his adjuration a second and a third time ; still there

was no response . Then , with a tremulous voice , and tears in his eyes , he solemnly closed the Royal Lodge forever , and , passing into the ante-chamber , ordered General Wintereld to arrest the traitor . The condemned Brother , not taking the opportunity offered to him , was imprisoned for life in one

of the fortresses which in earlier days he had constructed for the defence of the kingdom . Note . —This erring Brother was repelled for conduct unbecoming a Mason ( revealing btate and other secrets ) . How careful our younger Brethren should be in talking about the inner workings of Lod

ges , or any disputes which may arise , and how sad when there is a serious disagreement between Masonic Brethren . Ladies are always curious , and great care must be exerted that under no circumstances should the secrets of the Craft be communicated to them , as they are not bound by secrecy as a Mason

is . The daily Press should not be the first to receive news of the Lodges , but the Masonic papers will exercise due discretion . Going to law about Masonic matters is bad for the Craft . There is bitterness still about well-doings . The principle of a sacred unity should ever be with us , ° and too

much impressiveness cannot be imported into the sublime charge of secresy , fidelity , and obedience . Brethren expelled only publish their own dishonour by pronouncing themselves

Masons . As they are dead to the Masonic world ( except occasional relief ) , so they should unlearn and forget that they ever belonged to the Order . Grave faults may be forgiven upon due submission , but there are breaches of Masonic

contracts which cannot be overlooked . Masonry is only the judge—the crime of disclosure brings its own disgrace and punishment . — " Masonry . "

Can Roman Catholics Be Masons.

CAN ROMAN CATHOLICS BE MASONS .

Translated by BRO . ELI BROAD . THIS is a question which , while probably very much debated in our Lodges , has not yet been resolved in conformity with the sound principles and the ends our Sublime Institution . pursues . In effect , it has been believed that

Can Roman Catholics Be Masons.

Masonry—recognising liberty under all its phases as a base , and being foreign to purely religious questions—should open the doors of its temples to all men who solicit , without asking them the religion they profess . Such an opinion , at first sight , appears logical and in every way consistent with the spirit of

Masonry ; but if we go a little deeper into the question , and if we enter into some considerations which experience suggests , we shall agree that the Catholics cannot be Masons and that their presence in our Lodges is a constant threat , a continual menace to all our securities . If Masonry recognises liberty as

a base—how can it admit to its bosom individuals who have spontaneously renounced that precious gift , which nature itself concedes them ? The Catholics reject liberty as being pernicious , and for that reason we see them adhere in every thing to the dispositions of their prelates . The , Catholics have

no will of their own , because , as believers , all their actions obey the caprices , the superstition , and even the perversity of their superior , who presents himself before them with all the prestige given to him by the infallibility he has conceded to himself . The Catholics are obliged to accept them without commenting

thereon , because the beliefs imposed on them by the church are to them true and unquestionable ; because—oh ! decay of reason ! To them the voice of the Roman Pontiff should surpass the authorised voice of science , which more than once has condemned as absurd and ridiculous the so-called truths

of Catholicism . For that reason the Catholics at all times have been opposed to the advance of science and have always pretended to maintain societies " in statuo quo , " incompatible with human progress . When men of genius—sacrificing their private interests on

the altar of common good—have pretended to lead the people in the paths of their perfection they have always found obstacles at times invincible , placed there by Catholicism , which refractory to all progress and enemy of every reform , when it finds itself conquered on the ground of reason , appeals to the "It is

not yet time , " . a constant argument with which it pretends to assure the empire of routine , and the reign of the old prejudices . Call a Catholic and demonstrate to him that his creed is absurd , because it is in open conflict with reason , and he will reply that his religion is based on mysteries which he cannot and ought

not to comment upon ; but that he ought to believe in them because the church so commands him and the High Pontiff so ordains—that man who , with the scorn of the modesty and humility which characterised the illustrious executed One of Calvary , of whom he calls himself the representative , accepts

without scruple the appellation most holy given to him by the servility , the baseness and abjection of his inferiors . Tell a Catholic that the people should now shake off the yoke imposed on them by theocratic power , as only in this manner can they attain their true felicity , and he will reply that the

people are ignorant and for the same reason it is not yet time to emancipate them from the salutary tutelage of the clergy ; because for the Catholics it is never time to realise a reform , it is never time to give a step in the path of progress , it is never time to abandon the routine however pernicious it may be .

The Catholics venerate Christ and adore him as their true God . Nevertheless , how distant they are from accepting , even in theory , all the beautiful precepts of the Great Martyr of Liberty . And are such individuals worthy of belonging to the Great Family ? The Masons live a life of continuous

activity and love Liberty under all its forms , because they see in it a precious gift against which any attempt is a crime ; true apostles of progress , their labours ara all directed to . the fraternising of man , procuring thus to realise the beautiful ideals of the Crucified One . The true Mason sees his fellow

creatures as his own brothers , is always disposed to succour in their necessities , even to those who ridicule and despise him , because the true Mason practices goodness for the goodness itself without thinking of the hope of a recompense that will amply repay the kindness done—hope that makes vapid every

good action . The true Mason always works to illuminate the people , because he sees in their enlightenment the fount of their true felicity , while the Catholic fears enlightenment , because he considers it as the origin of heresy . The true Mason proclaims equality , and how many times have we seen

glitter on the worn garb of humble artisans the insignia and jewels of our high dignitaries , while the Catholics reserve their consideration and respects for the rich and the potentates . The true Mason knows that man is free to think , while the

Catholic rejects liberty of thought , as though he could be subject to fixed and invariable laws . The Mason knows that man is at liberty to render cult to God in the manner he considers best , while the Catholics proscribe libertv of cult