Unjustly Defamed.

UNJUSTLY DEFAMED .

An Oration before thc Grand Lodge of Florida , F . and A . M ., 2 Jrd January 1 S 90 , by Bro . II . II . Wcller , Grand Orator .

IT will not be out of place , on on occasion such as this , to present to the brethren a brief glance at Masonry as from within , and the charges made against it from without . Every social organization owes a duty of proper respect to the general society in and through which it moves , and especially must this be true of this , the oldest and most powerful human association known to man .

The Masonic body is pre-eminently one whieh " minds its own business . " Two of its leading characteristics are " peace and harmony . " It does not advertise or search for recruits . It makes no pnblic appeal to , nor does it flaunt ita virtues before , the public ; and yet , oufc of fche silence

m which it persistently keeps its own counsel , and does its own appropriate work , originates , mainly , tho misunderstanding and misrepresentation of its real character , on the pait of thoso outside its fold . Bub ifc is manly and

courageous in all its attributes , and so should ever be ready to give an answer to proper inquiry , and also to unjust defamation and abuse . This , if for no other . reason , that its members may be reminded of its principles , and know where danger lies in their pathway .

Every intelligent Mason knows that under the influence of the Jesuits our Order was condemned , and its members anathemized and deprived of sacrament , and the rites of burial , by Pope Clement XII . in 1738 , Benedict XIV . in 1751 , Pius VII . in 1821 , and Leo XII . in 182 G . Bufc we

are apt to think that these acts were growing out of the strong prejudices , darkness and turbulence of an era long past , and thafc fchey have been swept aside and demolished by the light , intelligence , freedom and cultivation of these

later days , when despotisms are in the dust of death , the shackles upon mind and conscience have been broken , and every avenue of manly action , mental research and social enterprise is thrown freely open to every seeker .

It seems , therefore , rather strange , that in snch times as these the condemnation and anathemas against Freemasonry should be renewed , and tho public press of a certain , and more or less influential class , should devote itself to our detraction and unjust abuse . But these are facts worthy

of yonr consideration . For , so recently as the year of grace 1864 , Pius IX ., and within a few months Leo XIII ., have repeated , in tho strongest terms , the denunciations uttered by their predecessors , and the publications under their control have renewed the unrelenting onslaught upon Freemasonry , with increased violence .

I propose , therefore , to present to you a few quotations from somo of these published documents , and then set forth , iu brief outline , and from its own authorized standards , the challenge of Freemasonry to the world , for its regard , esteem and admiration .

A ( Roman ) Catholic Dictionary says : " Freemasons are a secret society and pantheistic sect . . . . Freemasonry is essentially opposed to the belief of the personality of God , whose name in the Maaonic rituals veils tho doctrine of

blind force only , governing the universe . It is also essentially subversive of legitimate authority . They have usually been accustomed to regard the pantheism of their rituals as an amusing mummery . "

The Cathohc Citizen says : "The Masons are accomplished tuft-hunters . This fact was recalled when the Washington Monument was dedicated in the nation ' s capital . After the orators of the day had spoken , and the formal ceremonies had been concluded , the rest was left to

the Masons , They proceeded to enact some of their ancient antics on fche structure , finding it to he plumb , and otherwise pronouncing a perfunctory judgment on the contractor ' s job . The performance was , throughout , a concatenation of meaningless mummery , nofc having even

the sincerity of being superstitious . Thafc such puerile and silly proceedings should wind up a great nation ' s dedicatory ceremonies is truly a matter of regret . The ¦

proceeding is , however , only a specimen brick' of like impudent intrusions of tho Masonic sect upon many other occasions ... the caperings and antics of a lot of aproned harlequins . "

The Freeman ' s Journal , of Dublin says : "The oafch and ritual of Freemasonry may awe while they fascinate the common herd of dupes and instrnmenii . They may

Unjustly Defamed.

supply a useful screen for the baser intrigues of canning and bigotry , by which men plot against the commercial prosperity or professional advancement of fcheir fellow citizens , by utilizing , for private ends , tbe obligations of a

sworn membership . Tho frish Ecclesiastical Record , of Dublin says : " Can tve not trace the hand of Freemasonry in all the events which disturb the social order , and undermine the holiest

and mosfc salutary institutions . Pope Pius IX ., in 1884 , said , in reply to some who maintained that Freemasonry was not condemned in countries where tho civil government tolerated ifc : " Lest unwary persons shonld bo led astray , that our silence

should , in any way , help the spread of error , we have resolved to lift up our voice , and hereby confirming in yonr presence the constitutions of our predecessors , we reject and condemn the Masonic society . " Pope Leo XIII . repeats the condemnation of Masonry by the preceding

popes , and adds : " The ultimate purpose ot the Masonic sect is the utter overthrow of the whole religious and political order of the world , which the Christian teacher has produced . " By the declaration of the papal court , 21 st August 1850 , the excommunication ( lentae sententce )

in force without sentence , ia inflicted on " all who give their names to the Masonio sect . " This excludes from sacraments and all the rites of the church , including Christian burial , and an exclusion , so far as the papal order can exclude , from admission to heaven after death . In

addition to all this , the charge is made , from the samo source , in the struggle of the papal authorities to get control of the public school funds in the United States , for their own nse , that Masonry favours and works for a godless education of our children .

Here , in these few quotations , which could be largely increased in number , is a strong , even violent , arraignment of Freemasonry afc the bar of public opinion . If tho charges are true , our Order is a moral leprosy , a disturber of the public peace , and a Jesuitical antagonist of all right

authorities , moral , religious and political , for which it ought to bo prohibited by fche laws of the land , and its members placed under the surveillance of the police . In this , their true position , every Mason should and must look upon them . There is no escape . We are either the true ,

intelligent , and working friends of humanity , or wo aro the servants of tho devil , doing the devil ' s work . The issue is openly made beforo tbe wholo world . Ifc ought to be fairly met . How shall we meet ifc ? is a question of vital importanco to each and all of us . If we answer by reference to

the long list , running through centuries , of the great , pure , noble , and even saintly men , who are on our rolls , the answer is made that these men wore what they were in

despite of their affiliations . If we say they were what they were , in part at least , as the result of their orderly teaching in Masonry , we are answered thafc we aro playing on the popular credulity .

We meet the issue squarely , when we say that Masonry is founded upon the brotherhood of man ; that brotherhood presupposes a fatherhood , and the Father is God . This relation is actual , not imaginary . The first could not exist without the latter . "Without God , fche Father , brotherhood

could not exist ; and so when tho Grand Orient , in France , repudiated this Fatherhood of God , and the absolute duty of service to Him , Masonry , throughout the world , denounced the statement , and cut off all recognition of and affiliation with it . This is expressed as voicing all by the

Grand Lodge of New York , when it says , by unanimous resolution : " We refuse to recognize as a Freemason any person initiated , passed or raised in a Lodge where the existence of a Supreme Being is denied or ignored . ' Oliver says : " Ifc is a beautiful system of morality , veiled

in allegory , and illustrated by symbolism . " The Monitor says : " The person who desires to be made a Mason must be a man who believes in a Supreme Being , and in a future existence . " In the prayer prescribed for the opening of a Lodge are the words , addressed to God , " In Thy name we

have assembled , and in Thy name we desire to proceed in all our doings . " In the prayer for fche initiation of an Entered Apprentice , we have : " Vouchsafe , Almig hty Father , that this candidate for Freemasonry may dedicate aud devote his life to Thy service . " The degree of Fellow

Craffc typifies " the struggle of the mind after truth , in promoting the glory of God and the good o £ man ; " an < 1 the degree of Master Mason is bufc a type of the communion of man wifch God , and a symbolism of fche Incarnation and Resurrection into life everlasting , The Master of each