Startling Resolutions Adopted In The Great Masonic Convention.

STARTLING RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED IN THE GREAT MASONIC CONVENTION .

THE Bulletin des Serviteurs de Saint-Pierre , a periodical under the high patronage of the Bishop of Grenoble , the " Mallet of { he Freemasons in France , " in a late issue , gives some useful and curious details about the great Masonic meeting styled a " convent" held last September . The writer of the article plainly

proves that Freemasonry to-day more than ever seeks " to crush Catholicism "—to follow out Voltaire ' s policy—( ecraser l'infame , le clericalisme)—and ho takes note of the " fresh declarations of war against tho Church "—visible in tho resolutions from which he quotes . In the very first sitting , F . \ Poulle , who was elected

chairman—and here it may he well to say that the easily interpreted letters and cabalistic signs or titles here reproduced are as given in the Masonic records of the proceedings—sounded the note for the working of the convent during the session , by " describing the fight for centuries past of F .-. M . " . against

clericalism , " and saying that " on the battle field it is not lawful to revictual the enemy . " Next , he congratulates F . \ M .-. who came off victorious in the late electoral campaign , " not forgetting those who had succumbed before a combined superiority of Clericals and Rallied . " The watchword being given , it was adhered to faithfully to the end . The " Bulletin " says : —

After a debate on the F . •. M . •. of Paris and that of the provinces between the FF . •. Benoit Levy , de Serres , Doumer and Lafitte , about the direction to bo imparted to the Order by its council , the F . -. Merchier proposed " to attach to the subject of the debate the report of the commission of' Propaganda , ' which is a declaration laying down tho chief lines to bo followed in order to put an end to undecision . " He then read the following document : —

The Convent of 1893 , true to the anti-clercial and humane doctrines of the F . \ M . \ , being anxious that the council of the Order should give to all the L . \ of the Obedience a powerful impulse , capable of finally bringing about the reforms which have been so long desired and hoped for , deputes the said Council to organise , over the entire territory of the Republic , a pacific

agitation , for the purpose of being permitted to finally crush clericalism by a full and complete application of the schools and military laws , the introduction of further general laws destined to bring about the separation of the Churches and the State , the suppression , pure and simple , of the Religious Orders and congregations , and the confiscation of their property by the nation .

Convinced , moreover , that Social questions take the lead over all others , that F . •. M . ' . the admitted initiatrix of our Revolution of 1789 , is in duty bound to be a sure and faithful guide in the pacific evolution for which democracy clamours louder and louder

every day , decides that the council of the Order should start and set on foot , in every M . \ L . •. of the entire Obedience , and through them in the entire country , a movement of opinion destined to show the necessity :

" ( 1 ) Of suppressing every monopoly , chiefly that of the Banque de France , the Railways and Mines . " ( 2 ) Of suppressing tho inheritance in collateral line . " ( 3 ) Of creating a progressive duty on the inheritance in direct line .

" ( 4 ) Of creating public assistances of every description in the towns and country , organised in such a manner as to secure for every man , temporarily unable to earn his bread , the gratification of his minimum of wants .

" Anxious , moreover , to see the M .-. Federation busy about the questions which most of all agitate the world at large , he desires to ask the Council of the Order to request all the L .-. to put on the order of the day of their deliberations this important question : — of property individually and collectively considered . "

Matters were then freely discussed , and finally it was agreed that the proposed resolution should be sent to the committee of votes . Then the F .- . Tranier moved the following resolution , which was also referred to the committee of votes ; and declared that whereas : —

" The Convent of 1893 , considers that it is impossible to discuss at present the conclusions adopted by the committee of propaganda , which conclusions embrace the whole social question , they send back those same conclusions to the Lodges ; but the Convent , beforehand , begs of the Council of the Order to cause the whole

stress of the French Masonry to bear on the two following items , which are the groundwork of every reform and of overy progress . " ( 1 ) The separation of the Churches and the State , preparing and making use of every means in their power to bring about this separation within a very brief space of time .

" ( 2 ) Thc Revision of the Constitution by an assembly specially convened and elected for the purpose , no reform being possible with the present organisation . " In a third meeting , under the presidency of F . \ Poulle , the assembl

y proved that they are a State in a State , and that if their f n ? ^ slsts its members to be elevated to the dignity of members of the Legislative Corps or the Senate , it understands that they must by ail means follow its orders ancl vote accordingly . We

n TllQ ^ •'•Colin Roudier begs next to ask the Council of the urcler what are their relations with the public authorities ? He reminds them that numbers of F .-. have come into power through Masonry , but that all of them did not remember this . He wishes to

know if the Council retains always an access to them , or if any ot them endeavour to push aside the step-ladder which helped tflem to rise ? He does not blame the Council , but simply puts a question , the answer to which should enable the L .-. to say what attitude should be adopted in reference to such FF .-. MM . - .

Startling Resolutions Adopted In The Great Masonic Convention.

F . •. Viguier , Chairman of the Council , said in reply , that the surest means to prevent the possibility of influencing the public authorities is that publicity , which nowadays attaches to every political action . The council has done in each case what it thought

to be its duty . A country cannot belong to two masters ; to a Church which holds it still under subjection , and a F . ¦ . M . " . anxious to set it free ! Tho surest means for the M . •. to retain its influence is to keep intact the union between the FF . * . MM . •.

New members of the Council of the Order were next elected to replace those going out by rotation . Those elected were : The F . •. Thulie , Lartigue , Adrien , Durand , Fernand , Maurice ( deputyl , Amiable , Poulle ( magistrate ) , Merchier ( professor University ) , Merignarques , Lucipia ( late condemned Communard ) , Corbiere , and Bizet .

The election of the new members was scarcely proclaimed when a F . •. Bouvret asked the question "if the newly-elected had signed the engagement concerning their civil obsequies and the lay education of their children who are still minors ? " It is no doubt in the name of liberty of conscience that this two-fold obligation

is imposed on the members of the council I The new members , however , complied with the request , and gave the necessary pledges . We must now mention a few of the other resolutions proposed , and , of course , carried by acclamation . These were as follows : —

( No . 7 ) All titles , offices , or functions , whatever of priests , which do not date back to the time when the concordat was signed , should be suppressed by extinction ; that each year a M . ' . member of the Corps Legislative at the time of the debate on the budget be asked to propose an amendment to this effect , and all the M . * . members to vote in favour of such an amendment .

( No . 8 ) That the State should retain the exclusive monopoly of education throughout all stages of youth , from the child learning the alphabet to the university graduate . ( No . 10 ) That chairs of independent moral * be created for teaching in all the stages of education .

( No . 12 ) That all the employees and functionaries , civil or military , of the French Republic be bound to get their children educated in establishments connected with those of the State , and this under penalty of being officially cashiered , or bound to retire . Here are some more resolutions which we quote for the reader's edification : —

That within five years the personnel of the public State establishments , either of the Departments or of the Communes , be exclusively lay . That after the expiration of the term of five years hence , the State , as well as the Departments and the Communes be prohibited from giving any grant to any establishment or society whatever whose personnel is not exclusively lay .

That one of the conquests to be secured is woman , for when onco she is completely ours , the M . \ may lay down their swords and throw off their sashes : with her , our end is achieved . We must now direct attention to a curious incident relative to the "law of silence , " on which the F . •. seem particularly to insist ,

although they proclaim themselves " children of light . " It was the chief subject of a meeting . We are told that the sixth and last meeting of the Convent opened with a serious debate on the " law of silence . " The F . •. reporter read the following proposition :

1 . The convent reminds every F . \ M . •. and every Lodge of the obligation of the law of absolute silence , and of the necessity for applying rigorously to any M ••. or lodge guilty of indiscretions , the dispositions of the article 275 of the general rule :

2 . The members of the council of the Order must , by every means in their power , prevent this article 275 becoming a dead letter . The F .-. Lono-Savigny next said that a vote ( still more radical ) had been deposited on the table by the members of the

committee of votes . It prayed : "That no official document emanating from the F . •. M .- . be handed for publication either to any profane paper , or even to any M . •. publishers other than those of the official Bulletin of tho G , \ 0 . •. F . •. ( the Grand Orient of France ) : —

That the said " Bulletin " be sent only to the L . ' ., and that no private subscription to it be possible , not even through any of the Lodges . And that , moreover , the penalties enacted by the rule shall be applied in all their rigour to any F .-. M . •. guilty of M . * . indiscretion , whether they be the authors of the publication or do merely reproduce any official documents .

The speaker hoped the law of silence would be absolute . The F . -. M .-., he reminded his hearers , took a special engagement to this effect ; at their meeting special measures were taken to prevent the admission of strangers ; and yet certain things have been divulged . Some persons speak of legal indiscretions which cannot be prevented . But he would propose a modification in the

" Bulletin ; " mere separate fly-sheets should be sent to the L . \ ( lodges ) , and the L .-. would put these together in pamphlet form . He was also of opinion that all private subcriptions should be cut off , because of the danger that certain collections might pass into profane hands ; and , finally , he demanded tbat " strict measures should be taken that no newspaper , either M . •. or prof . •. divulge any secret regarding the M .- . deliberations . "

It is often said that Freemasonry in Ireland , and even in America , has nothing in common with the European or Continental Freemasonry ; that it is simply a friendly association for mutual assistance ; and that it is not infidel in its aims . It is , however , an established fact that all Freemasons belong to one and the same brotherhood , have all the same secret signs by which