"Il Tegame," Or A Mason's Holiday.

Ono thing further " onr ancient brethren" did , viz ., that m accordance with tho bad , though general , habit jf those days ( bnt which modern legists aud statesmen have striven so much to diminish ) they sicore . They swore as Apprentices , thoy swore aa Craftsmen , they swore as Masters - aud each time paid fees at tho then "Grand Ledge" of the City—to which all City companies wore

affiliated—viz ., the Tolsey . " Our army svvoro terribly in Flanders , " said my uncle Toby ,- so they did in tho city in those basest of all days whioh our history records , viz ., tho early part of the last century , aud unfortunately wo havo in some degree inherited our strange jargon of oaths from our city hodfellow sires , with this difference , —that they swore upon

tho gospels a Christian oath , AVO on tho moral law tho ghastly oaths of devils and of tho Mafia . What Deity , however , the G . A . O . T . U . represents it would puzzle philosophers and theologians to determine . It is most certainly a vital question , whether he can be considered in any way as the God of Revelation and of Providence .

Hence ifc is nnder this Supreme doubt that onr oaths arc valueless , ns not ; being made to a god in whom any of ns believe , but rather belonging to that category of gods of whom ifc is said there are gods many nnd lords many—that is gods spawned on tho Darwinian principle , of which tho race began with Safcnrn , and of which the Freemason God with his Thor elub is tho latest and most vigorous

development . As a believer in Revelation , I have , in common with our Israelitish brethren , no belief in any god unknown to Revelation , and as a Christian in none other than the Great Triune Deity as taught in the Christian Church , nor has in reality any other brother being a Christian . I repeat that I havo no faith in tho G . A . O . T . U . since

if there bo such a god he is unknown to Philosophy and Revelation ; he may bo a devil , he may be anti-Christ . It is clear , then , that tho obligation as an oath is nothing ; it is like food offered to idols . I speak not only of the Craft here , but I turn my memory to an institution claiming alliance with Freemasonry , of which I lately had

question ( which commenced this discussion ) , and to the idea of tho false god , I add that of a lying priesthood , and of " THAT " in which " whatever maketh a lie shall have no part therein . " Yes , a lying priesthood is the surest diagnosis of a false God . Therefore , the god being of dubious reputation , there remains only tlie civil contract of our Italian and other brethren , who decline con - scientiously to take oaths , as for them blasphemous and not binding on

their consciences . When last at my own Lodge I heard it remarked , but not during the time of business , " Oh , we don ' t think anything of these oaths , they aro nothing . " I dare say the speaker expressed the opinion of many others . Will my friends name any other institution , since tho world began , were such principles havo been confessed ? Yet such is

accepted English Masonry . I know my younger brethren havo not time to think out these things ; their daily occupations absorb their energies and thought . It is only lately I have myself had timo to think the subject through , and I offer them humblv mv observations .

I know it will be said , " What of all this ? wo have the Bible and Testament in our Lodges . " Tlio Mahomedan believes in the Old Testament mnch as we do , bnt that does not justify , in onr oyes , his religion . Tho " Mormon " believes in both Old and New Testament , and even exceeds Freemasons in making his own additions to the sacred page .

" That plea , therefore , holds theo no remission . A conscientious Israelitish brother told me , in moving terms , of the indignity shown him by causing him to swear on tho New Testament , but of which ho was not aware until long after . Allow me now to offer the best practical solution . Let ns resolve to get rid of these ghastly and blasphemous oaths ; the rest will soon

follow . The feeling of brotherhood in the medical profession is perhaps aa strong as it is in Freemasonry ; yet we have no oaths , and tho Royal College of Physicians wonld indignantly exclude tho Fellow or Member who guarded a secret . The total abolition of the ghastly oaths would bo a first step to a higher , a happier—nay , a holier aim .

In my recent visit to Rome , being furnished with credentials from tho Neapolitan Lodges , I had tho honour of an interview with a distingnishod Roman Freemason at tho Via della Valle . I had called tho day previous , and finding him from home had written and loft a letter explaining my object . On the following clay I was so fortunate as to see him ; he received mo most courteously . After the usual salutations we entered upon thosnbjcctof Masonry , the conversation may be fairly narrated as follows : —

Myself . It is with much pain , " Mia caro fratcllo , " that I sec this unfortunate schism in tho Craft Masonry of Europe , and I should bo happy to be able lo explain your views to tho English brethren , who as a body are jnst and honourable . II mio caro J ' ratelh . I feel equal regret with yourself at this schism , but the fault is not with us .

Myself . Of course you aro aware of the allegation in England that yon have denied God , and are Atheists , and it is asked , —How arc true believers to agree and co-operato with you ? II mio arrofralello . How can you affirm , my good brother , thatl am an Atheist ' { I was born a Catholic , and hope to be so still ; although I do not agree with all papal doctrines , such as tho papal infallibility , and certain other points . I can safely affirm this of myself , and so filr

as I know , of alt my Christian brethren . The Israelitish brethren also are certainly not Atheists . Myself . My dear brother , you quite mistake me ; such a thought never entered my mind as to accuse you yourself of such a moral crime . It is only in yonr collective , yonr official capacity , that the term Atheist is applied . II mio cam fratcllo , I quite nnderstand , my brother , tho dif-

"Il Tegame," Or A Mason's Holiday.

ference yon establish , especially as it implies that in yonr own official and collective capacity , you yourself , in common with all English Masons area Deist . I do not feel just now called upon , or oven able to enter on a theological or philosophical discussion , but ifc seems to mo that tho Existence or Being you call G . A . O . T . U . is only

another name for Nature . Philosophically speaking , ho is not even tho equivalent of tho moral God of Plato . His organisation is not so high . It is rather the Saturn from whom all things aro fablod to proceed by tho laws of nature . To him ( if a him ifc can bo called ) there are no human attributes , there is no Providence with him , wo are simply as atoms in his sight , and when wo die wo aro as dust .

Talk as you will , such is tho Bon Dieu , the Iddio for whom is demanded our allegiance aud worship , that wo should pray to him and should praise him . Wo havo great respect in Italy for liberty of conscience , and strive to impress it upon onr re-organised institutions , and will ,

therefore , leave yon to define yonr Masonio Godhead as yon please , but such an idea of God does not meet onr views , either as religious men , philosophers , or Masons . Further , such an idea of God has no hold upon our consciences , and whilst wo desire to respect your belief , leave to us the same privilege . "Wo aro earnest Freemasons ,

and true , and avoiding idle fable believe in truth , and in truth alone . Thus virtually terminated tho interview with II mio caro fratello . I felt towards him as a friend and brother , and had the doctrine ho thus professed doomed him as an Atheist to tho stake would havo

taken my place beside him . As the sound of his voice faded from my ear , ifc seemed to me that I had listened to tho language of earnestness and truth , in terms and echoes dillering little from tho lella lingua autica , and the reasoning and eloquence of Cicero . His remarks deeply impressed

me" And I recorded what I hoard , A lesson for mankind . " W . ViNEtt B . BEHO-TE , M . D ., P . M . 1320 Now Athena-nm Club , Suffolk-street , Pall Mall , W . ( To be continued . )

The Order Of Malta

THE ORDER OF MALTA

From ilic Canadian Craftsman , loth March 1878 . BY COL . MACLEOD MOORE , GREAT PRIOR OF CANADA .

THE letters of an anonymons writer which lately appeared in tho columns of the Times under the head "Pretenders , " containing most unjustifiable remarks upon our late respected representative at the Great Priory of England , Bro . Richard Woolfe , in his position as Registrar of the Order of St . John in England , and the attack ou the

legitimacy of the Anglo-Catholic branch of the Order , having attracted the attention of members of the Great Priory of Canada , I have been requested to point ont by what authority it exists , and the connection between it and the "United Orders . " I do so the more willingly , being in possession of numerous letters from our late talented Bro . Woolfe and other competent authorities on the subject ; and having myself the hononr to be an Honorary Associate Chevalier .

The gratuitous and vindictive attacks from timo to time , of late years , by tho Roman Council of the Order of Malta , npon the English Protestant section , are most unwarrantable . The English , or sixth Langue , was an original division of the Order , and had not been suppressed by English Law , since its revival on tho 2 nd of April 1567 , but always treated as existent at Malta , and when tho

Government of the Order was finally removed from that Island after its conquest by the French Republic , ifc was deemed imperative to restore tho sixth Languo to a state of activity in its own country , which was effected after tho downfall of Napoleon , by tho Chapter General of tho French Knights assembling at Paris in 1811 , under the presidency of tho Princo Camille de Rohan , Grand Prior of

Aqnitaine , who elected a permanent commission to restore the position of tho Order . This convention was confirmed by a Pontifical Bull on the 18 th August 1814 , and was recognised as representative b y tho whole Order . It is incorrect to suppose that members of tho reformed religion were denied the privilege of joining the Order . History shows that such was not the case , and one of the latest acts

at Malta was to admit Protestant into the Order ns integral members . The Knights of tho Convention at Paris were of the Roman faith , and wero well aware that tho revived Langne of England would bo mostly composed of members of the Chnrch of England , and they provided for ifc accordingly in the Articles of Convention . Tho present Order in England , of which the Duko of Manchester is Lord

Prior , composed of members mostly belonging to the National Church , is a legitimate branch of tho genuine Order , revived by the convention entered into with the Three French Langues , tho Spanish and Portuguese also con cm-ring , thus forming a majority of five out of tho seven then actual divisions of the Order . The deeds of this convention , now in the Chancery of tho Order , at St . John ' s Gate ,

Clerkenwell , London , are dated 11 th June 1820 , and 21 th Au « nst 18 _ 7 , and have been verified by the signature and seal of tho Secretary General of the French Langues in 1841 . Dnring a period of 32 years not a syllable was said against tho lawful revival of tho English Order by tho Roman Council , but when all hope of converting

it into a Roman Catholic branch had failed , then the Roman Council which had corresponded for years with the French Langues as well as with the Order in England , having fchns full opportunity to dispute tho legality of the latter branch , if they had thought the action of the Order was not perfectly legal , turned round upon the English