Anonymous Authorship.

no unfair inference to suppose that the secrecy of authorship lent interest , if not strength , to what he wrote . It should always be remembered that between persons or parties attacked by un unknown writer stood the publisher and tbe law . How severe tho latter was up to a

very few years ago need not be discussed . The vice of scurrilty is nothing like so prevalent as it used to be . The Grub Street type of pamphleteer is almost a thing of the past , and only exists in the shape of prints that no decent man would countenance . Even the lampoons of a former

generation , written , as many of them were , by men of great ability , have now no counterpart , and the excrescences that occasionally disfigure polemical life are of a comparatively mild type indeed . There is a tendency to weigh what a man says and does ; there is less questioning

as to who a writer may be . His title to be heard rests upon what he produces , and not so much upon his rank , his name , or his fortune . Sometimes these favour an author , but there roust be merit as well to gain a wide and acceptable hearing . Men who have secured

high reputations wbiqh the fickleness of public opinion cannot injure or destroy may venture to sign their names to what they write ; but these are comparatively few and consist of those who hold pronounced views on tbe subjects upon which they descant . Until they had reached

the Olympian heights npon which they now stand , they were glad of the shadow of the mountain which concealed their persons , but did not prevent their sound from going forth . Many writers who need not fear publicity prefer

the secrecy of tbe closet ; they are content with the power they wield , and desire no popular applause . They shrink from being lionised , and they certainly do not court the abuse of the vulgar or the spite of the vindictive . There is less reason for the concealment of the names of writers

in magazines ; as a rule the papers are academical , and where they are not they are written in a cooler mental atmosphere , and in a style of deference to and respect for an opponent that is not usually followed in polemical discussions . Even in the case of magazines it is a question

whether the anonymous writer does not gain the greater advantage , however mighty his antagonist may be . Both are bound by the same laws of courtesy , and the Editor will take good care that nothing personally offensive or libellous shall appear . He is responsible for the good

conduct of the work over which he presides ; he has charge of its honour , and in proportion as he guards his trust and secures good workmanship , so will be his own credit and the position his charge occupies in the literary world . He knows that to publish the names of some of his contributors

would perhaps be injurious in some cases ; in others it ¦ would be superfluous , for few would know them outside the circle of their acquaintances . A writer loses nothing by the practice of secrecy ; indeed , in the majority of cases he is the gainer , for his work , done free from the gaze of

the world , and the petty jealousies and envies of rivals , has earned him a reputation which nothing but his own act can forfeit . There is a time in the career of nearly all writers when anonymity is imperative ; in the majority of cases it

were better that the practice should be continued . When a man can run alone , when he has gained a name , there are plenty of publishers who would be glad to place his productions before the world , so that there would be no necessity to hide his light under a bushel .

Hitherto we have treated of authorship in connection , chiefly , with books and magazines . Many of the same reasons apply to newspaper writers , but there is one great difference . The work of the latter is ephemeral , while

that of the former should be of a more lasting , if not of a permanent character . The newspaper writer , too , deals ¦ with the passions of men and parties , with current events , amidst heat and excitement . The writer of books and

of magazine articles is under no such necessity ; he , therefore , treats matters more philosophically and certainly has less regard for personality than the man whose duty ifc is to deal with men and parties . The more popular writer cannot very well have power without secrecy , and as the

public are amply protected by safeguards , there is no harm done to any one . In the case of correspondents to newspapers the matter assumes another form . A letter sent to a newspaper has to run the gauntlet of the editor , whose

duty it is to be satisSed that it contains neither scurrilous nor libellousmatter , and that the writer supplies him with his name and addresB . That is all the editor claims , and if the subject treated be pertinent and courteous and there is room , it is usually inserted . The editor becomes sponsor for the

Anonymous Authorship.

bona fides of the writer so far as they are disclosed on the surface . He may , or he may not , agree with the views expressed , that is immaterial , but by inserting a letter he implies that the writer is entitled to be heard , and if he is satisfied what right have the public to exact more ? No

such right exists , and it amounts to little less than impertinence on the part of our correspondent , who chooses , of his own accord to sign his letters , to condemn his opponent because he deems it convenient to write under a feigned signature . Anonymity does not imply baseness

or cowardice ; often it signifies self-sacrifice . Where a name can be given and it is likely to add weight to a communication , then not only is it desirable that it should be published , but it would be weakness were it withheld The publishing or not of a name is entirely at the

discretion of the writer , and this is a wise arrangement . The weak are equal with the strong , provided their case is just . Their claim to be heard does not rest merely on social position ; money does not enter into the matter . Rich and poor , learned and unlearned , stand on the same footing in

the Republic of newspaper correspondence . There , equality is practised in its completest sense , and the humblest can air his grievance without the fear of the tyranny of the oppressor , or the scorn of the wealthy . The opportunity afforded by newspapers to tbe aggrieved to assert their

rights , to defend their interests is one of the noblest attributes of tbe Press . It equalises conditions to a very great extent , and it makes intelligence , intellectual power and righteousness the arbiters of disputes . The rich man , the learned pedant , the philosopher and man of science , the

wealthy merchant , the magistrate , the Member of Parliament may sign their letters to the newspapers . Their very names would be sufficient against Hodge or Giles were he to append his signature to any complaint in which his powerful neighbours were concerned . Give

Giles or Hodge , however , the chance of being heard without reference to his social position , and his case will rest upon its merits . Anonymity protects •just exercise of a privilege . The same reasons , although to a less degree , apply to many Freemasons . There are brethren

in the Craft far abler than scores who wriggle through the chair and are dubbed Past Masters , who have not the time for the drudgery of office , nor for qualifying themselves for the high duties of the Master of a Lodge . These are little known outside of their own small circle , but the

better they are known the more they are respected . They have intelligence and power , and sometimes the desire to express their views . They shrink from publicity , and yet tbey are entitled to be heard . It would be unjust to shut their mouths because they desired to conceal their

identity ; whereas the hlatent man , who owes his position in the Craft more to his loud-talking and ignorant assumptions , has no such scruples ; indeed , he is rather proud than otherwise of having the opportunity of proclaiming

to the Masonic world , and the whole world of Cowans , too , that he has got a handle to his name , and therefore speaks with authority . It is not the name or title that gives the right to be heard .

The gond is bnt a guinea stamp , A man ' s a man for a' that . Merit , and not rank and fortune , is the natural law of superiority ; it is the very basis of the Craft , and upon that principle a newspaper editor ought to act . That he does

so in most cases is proof that he recognises the principle , the value of which cannot be overestimated . In these columns we recognise ho' higher claim to be heard than the exercise of the principles upon which Freemasonry is founded , and these are Liberty , Equality , and Fraternity .

Freemasonry In Portugal.

FREEMASONRY IN PORTUGAL .

THERE is one country where Masonic lig ht has penetrated only with the greatest difficulty ; for it w » 8 the seat of ignorance and superstition . This country wa buuu

the paradise of monks , who there ceased not to ^« vents , and exercise the exclusive privilege of directing ; * minds of the King , the people , and his counsellors . l na country is Portugal . From the Book of Constitution tus

published by the Grand Lodge in 1723 , and at later perw » - to the extent of five separate editions , the last of wl » was in 1855 , > ve learn that the Grand Lodge of Lonflo instituted at Lisbon , in 1735 , a Provincial Grand Lodg » by tbe agency of Bro . George Gordon ; but the seed w