Freemasonry In China.

the Sun . It is ono of tho best of the scanty number of bond fide hieroglyphics that the Chinese have to show ; it is a positive picture of tho Sun , tho life-giver , as their forefathers saw it overhead , a dot within the circle of the sky . " Bro . Giles , however , while noting this and other

coincidences , lays great stress on the necessity there is for the exercise of that important Masonic virtue of caution , before accepting offhand such coincidences as they might light upon as evidences of Freemasonry in China ; and

he cites two cases in which , in his opinion , Bro . Alabaster has beon misled owing to the difference in character in the language as now written , and as it was written centuries since . Says he , " characters are now written with straight lines , whereas before the Christian era almost every other stroke was a curve . " Thus he notes that the character

cliewj— " upright "—is Masonic both in shape and meaning and bears " a singular resemblance to the triple tau monogram of the Royal Arch degree , " but "in ancient days , it was formed with curved strokes , in which its identity with

the Masonic monogram can be traced only by the enthusiast . " Yet the character . '_« _]_ which our readers will at once recognise , is " written now as it was later even two and three thousand years ago . "

Other coincidences next claim the writer ' s attention

Thus the place of honour in a Chinese family is in the East , and hence an employer is often spoken of by his employes as " the Eastern one . " Then , as regards the Apron , the Chinese recognise the Masonic division of the body by its means , and have done so for centuries , and , adds Bro .

Giles , " in their ancient ceremonial of several thousand years ago an apron of some kind undoubtedly played a part Such an article of dress is , in fact , mentioned in the Discourses of Confucius , and is depicted in the old illustrated dictionary of the classics as ornamented with a plant , seven

stars , an axe , and the character of a or ya . " Further , " the Chinese symbol for an axe , placed inside the symbol for the square" is "the identical character by which the term ' Master Mason ' is expressed in the written language of China . " As to the a or ya Bro . Giles feels unprepared to

fix its sigmfic mee , but , he remarks suggestively , " Some assert that its meaning has reference to the disappearance of the sun ; and , if so , why not to the darkness visible of a Master Mason ' s Lodge P " Finally , " the great Tii , who is said to have drained off the waters of the Chinese

Deluge , girt himself with a lambskin apron when , bareheaded and barefooted , ho offered himself as a sacrifice for the people ; besides which wo have the apron distinctly mentioned in the Book of History as part of the sacrificial costume of old . "

Bro . Giles concludes his paper with somo remarks on the Secret Societies of China , which , unfortunately , it appears , are " strictly forbidden hy the Government , as hotbeds of sedition and political intrigue . " The best known of them , we are told , is " the Triad Society , " which has its

headquarters in the Straits' Settlements , and had its origin curiously enough about a hundred and fifty years ago , or not so very far from the date of the establishment of

Speculative Masonry in this country . The word " Triad " alludes to a conjunction of the three great powers in nature , to wit , Heaven , Earth , and Man . The Society admits members with a ceremonial resemblinsr our own .

Its working tools comprise " a 12-inch gauge , called ' the jade-foot rule , ' a balance , a steelyard , an abacus or counting-board , and a pencil . " They have " a W . M ., a 'great brother ' and ' a second brother , ' corresponding to our Senior Warden and Junior Warden ; a ' first point '

and a ' second point , corresponding to our Senior Deacon and Junior Deacon , and an inner and outer guard , both of whom wear wave-shaped swords , supposed to represent a dragon swimming iu a pool . They havo a Treasurer , and recogni . se the threo degrees of E . A ., P . O ., aud M . M ., which

they speak of as ' affiliated younger brother , ' ' obligated elder brother , ' and ' obligated uncle , ' respectively . " Bro . Giles points out other points of resemblance , and gives a description of the ceremony of initiation , but at too great length for us to repeat in detail . It seems , however , that

brethren discover themselves to each other by putting the question , " Whence do you come ? " the answer to which is , "I come from the East . " Then , "Whither are you directing your steps ? " to which tho reply

is , "I wish to go where I can join tho myriad brethren . " With a few further particulars the lecture closes . Wo have gone thus minutely into it , because , as wc said at starting , it cannot fail to be otherwise than most instruct ! 'e to onr readers . We think Bro . Giles has done his work

Freemasonry In China.

extremely well , and that it was a politic as well as complimentary act on the part of the Lodgo to havo it printed and published in its present form . Bro . Giles ' s points are undoubtedly the result of most careful study , and we thank

him most heartily for having afforded us an insight into a field of comparative literature with which it is well ni gh impossible or , at all events , in the highest degree improbable , we should have any acquaintance .

The Approaching School Elections.

THE APPROACHING SCHOOL ELECTIONS .

FOLLOWING very closely on the announcement of the result of the first of the annual Festivals held in connection with our Masonic Institutions come most practical evidences—in the form of " lists of candidates "—of the great need there is for the maintenance and even

enlargement of our charity funds . We no not approve of the cry " give , give , " being made a continuous one , but so long as Freemasonry rests on its present basis it will be incumbent on its members to do their utmost to uphold its distinguishing characteristic , and to provide as far as lies in their

power for the widows and children of the deceased or less fortunate members . How best to accomplish this end is , and we imagine ever will be , a question on which great difference of opinion exists , but there are some points on which we think it will be as well to give a passing thought

ere we proceed to our usual review of the several candidates . The election for the Girls' School takes place on Saturday , the 9 th April , while that for the Boys' is fixed for the following Monday ; we shall therefore , as usual , confine our present remarks to the particulars of the

former . The list gives the names of twenty-eight candidates , of whom seventeen appear now for the first time ; while of the whole number , fourteen—or exactly one-half —bear record of their father ' s death having taken place during the year just closed . Now , considering that by the

rules governing onr Schools , the petitions in each of these cases must have been drawn up some time before the end of 1880 , we think this bears unmistakable evidence of a great neglect of duty on the part of the brethren whose families are compelled to appeal to the charity of the

Craft , and it induces us to ask , what Freemasonry as practised in this country really is ? Is it a luxury or a necessity ? We answer most decisively , the latter ; and we greatly blame the man who takes from his family the money for the purpose of paying his initiation fees or his Lodge

subscriptions . We are frequently told that Freemasonry is not a benefit society , but we are beginning to think it would be much better if it were , for then every member would be compelled to do some little for the benefit of his family in case of need , whereas now it is -well-known that some make

a boast of what the Craft would do for their children if anything was to happen to necessitate an appeal to it , and in that way excuse themselves from personally making provision for misfortune . We are aware that it may be considered bad taste thus to speak of brethren who are dead ,

at the same time some action must be taken in order to check these serious and growing evils . It would appear that no sooner is a brother dead , than his family look around to see what advantages they can secure from his connection with Freemasonry . Now we are of opinion that if a

family is so destitute as to necessitate this , then the father had no right to join Freemasonry . If , on the other hand , Freemasonry be defined as a necessity , then some rule should be adopted whereby provision would be secured to a member's family , at least for a short

timo after his death . We consider that the Masonic Schools should be for the reception of the children of Masons , who having themselves done their best , and having exhibited some amount of consideration for the future could , with good grace , appeal to their fellows

in case of unforeseen calamity overtaking them or those dependent on them , and not for those who never exhibited the smallest amount of care , or showed they had the least regard for the future . If we take the same fourteen cases , we find that only four can boast of more

than ten years membership of the Craft , while seven of them average but four years membership each . Still wo hardly think that should be urged against the children , except as convincing us that in many cases the father acted unwisely in joining the Order , as the events of a few years