Homes And Education.

nine-tenths of the controversies that have boon raised on the subject Avill be instantly dismissed . No one on ear ! i can deny that mis-education is a moral and mental malady , that should , for the sake of the community , be at once p laced under efficient control . It does not require much

prescience to see that an education unfitting youth to perform the duties of men and citizens is destructive to tho individuals , and pernicious to society . But so long ai the education preparing them for the discharge of these duties is Avithheld , the reverse process must flourish in full

force . There is no standing still in this Avorld , the mind exist only in progress , it must advance in some direction either to good or evil . The blank sheets of paper to Avhich the mind of infancy has been compared , cannot long retain its pure vacuity . If the wise Avill not trace upon it the

characters of good , the wicked Avill so sully it as to render it unsusceptible of any useful impressions , and . cover it all over Avith uneffacable spells of evil . Ignorance does not mean a total absence of every kind of knowledge , nor does folly signify a total absence of every form of intelligence , but

ignorance is depraved knowledge , and folly is depraved intelligence . When AVC once admit the fact , that ignorance is depraved knoAvledge , it will require little argument to prove it the necessary parent of crime . The inference is so obvious , the consequence so immediate , and the

connection so palpable , that no statistical tables are necessary to the demonstration . It is often urged that a good national education will be very expensive ; grant this ai'gument ; Avhat then ? The answer is plain , has not a vile miseducation lost the nation , for years past , large sums in

public prosecutions , which monies , had they been expended in the reformation of young criminals , Avould have caused a diminution of crime , and an increase of happiness and security to the public . Therefore , let church and dissent ,

establishment and voluntaryism forget all minor differences to realise the sublime prospect , " Avhen our sons may grow up as the young olive-trees , and our daughters as the polished corners of tho temple . "

A Man And A Brother.

A MAN AND A BROTHER .

IT Avas no rosewater revolution that passed over the United States of America some ton or a dozen years ago . Between the America of 18 G 0 and 1875 there is a difference that , in the elder nations of the Avorld , might be measured by a century of change , yet many questions

affecting the social life of the people have survived the "late unpleasantness , " and still furnish material for tho oratory of the stump and the watchword of party . For the most part these questions may bo left to the people themselves . The popular sentiment , which , during the

intoxication of successful Avar , applauded monstrous rogueries , under the thin disguise of commercial enterprise , and now identifies conspicuous wealth Avith public virtue , may be trusted to prove as fleeting as other popular sentiments elsewhere . Indeed , there have been many

indications that , without the croAvning mercy of a financial panic to quicken it , the intelligence of a free people Avill , sooner or later , provide a remedy for admitted evils . The difficulty is to get the evils acknoAvledged as such ; Avhen that is effected , their correction Avill follow in good time .

One of these burning questions , the peculiar institution of the Southern States , was always a fruitful source of discord for contending politicians , and now , ten years after its complete abolition , we find the status of " coloured citizens " the subject of anxious consideration to American

statesmen . The " coloured pusson" is the hero of the hour . The civil rights of the emancipated negro engage the attention of every publicist , from Washington to Saratoga ; from the Chief Judge of the Supreme Court to tho doorkeepers of Morrisscy ' s Faro Clubs . We do not propose

to discuss the general question here . Our present object is simply to direct attention to a phase of the civil rights agitation , in Avhich every Freemason Avill be deeply interested . At Jackson , in the State of Michigan , there Avas held , last December , a meeting : of " coloured Masons " to receive

the report of a Committee appointed a year ago to petition the Avhite Grand Lodge for recognition . How many of the twelve months were occupied in preparing the petition , and

how many in considering the prayer of the supplicants , is not stated , but the answer was a refusal to grant a warrant , and , according to the report in the Detroit ; Neics , upon grounds exclusively technical .

A Man And A Brother.

As we understand the matter , no question was raised affecting the fitness of the petitioners for the desired honours . No irregularity of initiation Avas suggested , and no maimed

rites were condemned . Nevertheless , " the Grand Lodgo passed a resolution , affirming exclusive jurisdiction for over 30 years as a reason for refusing recognition . " There is about this remarkable resolution all tho laborious

brevity Avhich is the predominant characteristic of American newspaper literature , and Avhich renders a largo part of it unintelligible to English readers . But thero can be no doubt upon the main point , tho refusal of the warrant , and , as we think may bo assumed , upon technical grounds solely .

The question that Avill naturally suggest itself to the outer world is this : —Are these men Masons ? or are they not ? and it is a question that calls for the serious attention of our American Brothers . If these men of Michigan are Masons in all save recognition by the Avhites , tho

action of Grand Lodge in Avithholding the boon appears incomprehensible . Regarded from tho commonplace standpoint of expediency , it is impossible to approve a decision Avhich prolongs and tends to promote the existence of irregularities that aro scandalous to the Brotherhood at large .

From the higher view presented to the heart of a Mason , it is productive of more positive feelings ; stronger , indeed , than Ave care to utter . Toleration , Avhich is the offspring of Charity and Brotherly Love , is one of the grandest principles of our Order . Distinctions of creed or nationalities

Avhen invidious , are only known to Masons for reprobation : they are repudiated in our precepts and condemned in our laws . Pride and prejudice , whether begotten of rank or opinion , material Avealth or intellectual culture , havo no places in Masonry . It is the active principle of charity

Avhich sanctifies the aims and ennobles its members , and that principle has a Avider scope and meaning than conventional interpreters accord to it on either side of the Atlantic . We shall not , ourselves , be unmindful of this high attribute of tho Craft , nor be proved deficient in the distinguishing virtue of overy faithful Mason .

In this spirit AVO hasten to acknoAvledge that it is not for us to pronounce judgment , even upon stronger evidence than the ex parte statement of a newspaper reporter .

Moreover , we are unable to comprehend how such an obstacle as is dimly set forth in the resolution quoted should prevent the recognition of genuine Masons by the heads of the Order .

It may be , and it doubtless is so , that there were other and sufficient reasons for the action of Grand Lodge . But tho prayer of the " coloured Masons " of Jackson , and its rejection by the " Avhite folks , " furnish a curious corollary

to our proposition of 2 nd January : "There are thousands unrecognised , professing affiliation Avith the great brotherhood throughout the Union , Avho have no more ri ght so to do than they would have to proclaim themselves kings by divine right . "

The regular committee meeting of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Aged Freemasons and Widows of Freemasons , was held at Freemasons' Hall , Great Queen-street , Bro . Major Creaton in the chair . Bro . Jas . Terry read the minutes of the former meeting , they

Avere unanimously confirmed . The Warden ' s report Avas read , with that of the House Committee , shoAving repairs Avere necessary . Several candidates for the next election , both male and female , Avere placed on tho list , and other matters in connection Avith the Institution Avere discussed .

There were present Bros . B . Head , H . Browse , J . Brett , T . Cubitt , J . Constable , F . Adlan Newton , Griffiths Smith , L . Stean , W . Stephens , Hyde Pullen , W . Hale , Hilton

J . Stephens , C . A . Cottebrunc , C . Hogard , H . M . Levy . A vote of thanks to the Chairman followed , and the meeting Avas adjourned to the second Wednesday in the next month .

HOILOWAY ' S PILIS . —This purifying and regulating medicino should ba occasionally hail recourse to ( laving foggy , colli ivml wet weather . These Pills are the best preventives of hoarseness , sore throat , diphtheria , pleurisy and asthma , and aro sure remedies for congestion , bronchitis and inflammation . A moderate attention to the directions folded round each box will enable every

invalid to tako the Pills in tho most advantageous manner ; they will there bo taught the proper doses , and tho circumstances under which they must bo increased or diminished . Holloway ' s Tills act as alteratives , aperients and tonics . AVherevcr theso Pills havo been taken as tho last resourco , the result has always been gratifying ; even when they fail to cure , they always assuage the sevority of symptoms and diminish danger .