Freemasonry In Portugal.

sown on very barren soil . In the matter of persecution , undergone by all that attempted to disseminate Freemasonry in this country , ifc stands without a rival , except Spain ; but this condition has of late years very much changed .

The Inquisition , under the protection of the King , tracked every person from far and near who were sus pected of being Freemasons . Thus two lapidaries , ono named John Custos , originally a Protestant from Berne , Switzerland , and the other named Alex . James Monton ,

originally a Catholic from Paris , having expressed tho desire , to see a Lodge organised in Lisbon , fell into the snares set by the " holy office" and were thrown into prison . The accusation against them , charged them with seeking to introduce a Freemason ' s Lodge in Portugal ,

in violation of the bull of the Pope , which condemned their doctrines as impious and a heresy , and all Freemasons as beasts , Sodomites , & c . Under the order of the Cardinal Dacunha , grand inquisitor , they submitted nine times in three months to the most abominable torture that

is possible to imagine . Subsequently they were forced to assist at an auto da fe , and finally were condemued to tho galleys for life . Thanks to the aid of English Freemasons , however , they were enabled to escape and seek refuge in England . There was no doubt a vast number of our

brethren that were caught in the snares of the Inquisition and who died under the torture , but it is very difficult to ascertain anything about them . The Inquisition was no less severe with the natives of the country , for we find in 1776 two Portuguese nobles , Major D'Alincourt and Don

D'Ornelles Parracao , were imprisoned and tortured because they were Freemasons , although all vestage of of Masonry had disappeared for twenty-five years . In 1802 an inquest was ordered against Freemasons in Portugal , and all who were suspected by this inquest were

charged with conspiracy against the King and the Church and sentenced to the galleys for life . These measures were severe , but we find in 1805 a Grand Orient at Lisbon , with a Grand Master named Egaz-Moniz , but its ramifications were not very extended . Dissolved after the events

of 1814 , it was formed again in 1817 and sought to animate some Lodges ; but Freemasonry continued to inspire the monks with terror , and yielding to their solicitations , King John VI . issued a decree dated at Rio Janeiro , 30 th March 1818 , interdicting Freemasons from assembling together

under pain of death , ( Findel , Leipsic ) . We know nothing , of the lives destroyed under this decree ; there must have I been some . About five years afterwards it was modified by : another , which , dated at Lisbon , 20 th June 1823 , stated that ' it was issued in consequence of remonstrances upon the

subject having been addressed to the Government by many of the resident amassadors . By the terms of the last decree , the penalty was changed from capital puuishment ' to five years' labour in the galleys in Africa . No proof beyond mere suspicion was necessary to cause the arrest of '

persons who were immediately punished under the penalties of these edicts . Foreigners , as well as natives , were proceeded-against without any attempt to disguise the act ; or the least attention being given to the many protests made by the agents of their respective countries .

Notwithstanding these interdictions , however , as well as the cruelties which , were exercised under their authority , a Masonic body was constituted at Lisbon under the title of the Grand Orient of Lusitania , and also a Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite . The later sovereigns of

Portugal , without having revoked the prohibitionary decrees of Freemasonry appear to have tolerated the Fraternit y , for there has been established another authority at Oporto under the name of Pattos-Manuel , and subsequentl y a Provincial Grand Lodge of Ireland .

We can well understand that in such a country as Spain and Rome the clergy rule or desire to rule everything , foi it is to their interest to keep the people ignorant . Of late years our beloved Fraternity has progressed to a great

extent , many new Lodges having sprung into existence , and are in a flourishing condition , but we entertain hopes for a grander extension of Freemasonry in these countries . —Hebreio Leader .

Due Thought And Examination.

DUE THOUGHT AND EXAMINATION .

IT would be every way better if the important steps in life were more carefully considered , The majority of

Due Thought And Examination.

people act too much from impulse . They do not give due thought and examination to the various enterprises in which they engage , and consequently they often meet with bitter disappointment . Failing to make due investigation , they become involved in conditions not at all to their liking ,

and which they would have escaped by a less rash course of procedure . It is always best to consider where any given path is likely to lead , and the nature of its surroundings as well . A man proposing to become a Mason should give some careful thought and enquiry to the matter . He should

seek information as to the aims , tendencies , plans and methods of Masonry , that having a right appreciation of its character and purposes , he may understand the measure of responsibility which he assumes by an alliance with the Institution . He should make due investigations for the

purposo of forming a correct judgment as to the whether or not he will bo likely to be helped in life by establishing such new relations . There is no need that he should proceed recklessly in a matter of so much importance . Books are available which give abundant information as to the

principles of the organization—which clearly show within what lines it operates and what is the general order of its procedure . An intelligent enquirer has only to consult manuals and published proceedings to learn the nature of Masonic teachings and obligations ; and from such sources

he may also gain a good understanding of its ceremony and symbolism . If after making such investigations , and giving due exercise to the thought , the judgment approves the taking of the step whereby one connects himself with the great

Brotherhood , there is comparatively little liability to disappointment . The candidate knows in advance what to expect . He does not enter a Lodge with the idea that the object is merely to have a good time ; or that he is to derive some material benefit from his new associations ; or

that he is to find priviliges of any sort unaccompanied by corresponding duties . The well-informed candidate will anticipate just what he will find to be the fact , that Masonry is an orderly and devout system ; that it enforces grand moral principles and seeks to repress the baser

passions of humau nature . He will find its fellowship large and free , its ministries and helps abundant ; but he will also realise the correctness of his thought at the outset that Masonry imposes obligations and sets before its members a high standard of truth and duty .

It would certainly be better for the Institution , and for all concerned , if candidates would exercise due thought and careful examination before making application for the degrees . Let them not act by impulse , but take time to

reach a satisfying judgment . Let tliem consider whether they are fitted by temperament , opinions , and sympathies , for membership in the Masonic Fraternity—whether they are prepared to assume the duties therein imposed and conform to the standards therein established—whether

they will be likely to derive any added zest of life from such associations . If , after turning the subject over in their own minds they i-each an affirmative conclusion , let them go forward with a confident expectation that they will both get good and do good by their connection with the ereat Brotherhood . Candidates of

this class—those who enter the organisation after proper reflection and inquiry , and who rightly apprehend the distinctive features of Masonry—will surely find themselves at home in the Institution , and they may be relied upon

to stand by it in the storm as well as in the sunshine . Their affection for it will not be likely to diminish , but rather increase , and their faithfulness to its interests will be steadfast to the end . " —Freemason ' s Repository .

We have pleasure in announcing that Bro . A . Simner , J . D . of the Domatic Lodge , No . 177 , was admitted to the Freedom and Livery of the Worshipful Company of

Loriners on the lOfch of the present month . We congratulate our esteemed brother , and trust he will secure as much enjoyment from his new associations , as we have seen him derive from Freomasonry .

On Wednesday Bro . General Lord Wolseley was engaged for several hours in inspecting the School of Military Engineering . At night his Lordship was the guest of the Royal Engineers .