Ladies And Freemasonry.

LADIES AND FREEMASONRY .

WE give elsewhere a report of the regular meeting of the William Preston Lodge , No . 766 , when , as has often occurred in connection with this Lodge , the lady friends of the members were

entertained at the banquet which followed the work of the day . We have on previous occasions spoken of the success which has attended these departures from

the ordinary routine ol our Lodge meetings , and when we consider how popular they have become at the William Preston we wonder they are not more general among the Craftsmen of the Kingdom .

This week's gathering at the Lodge was as enjoyable as any it has been our fortune to attend , and as the Secretary said , in the course of his reply to the toast of his health , it is but reasonable to suppose that the

ladies would go away from the meeting even more favourably impressed towards Freemasonry than they had previously been . Everything was done by the members of the Lodge to ensure the enjoyment

of those present , and we think all will agree that the outcome was a most satisfactory one . In face of such a result it may well be asked why the members of the Craft do not more generally adopt the innovation

that has worked so well for years past at the William Preston Lodge ?

The Grand Orient Of Italy.

THE GRAND ORIENT OF ITALY .

THE annual festive gathering of the Italian Freemasons was held in Rome , on the 2 nd inst ., and has called forth an article from our contemporary the Tablet , in which several matters of interest are

touched upon . In the first place our contemporary regards this gathering as marking " an advance in daring and audacity on the part of the sect , which no longer hesitates tb claim publicly the influence and

authority hitherto exerted under the veil of secrecy . " It appears our contemporary called the attention of iis readers not long ago to a circular from the Masonic authorities , published in a French paper ,

prescribing the methods to be adopted in furtherance of their aims , especially in regard to education , and pointed to the course of political affairs in Italy as a corroboration of the authenticity of the document ,

and an illustration oi the fidelity with which the precepts contained in it were there put in practice . It now feels compelled to give a further testimonial to its avowed enemy—the Masonic Craft—by

ascribing to it much of fche advanced and enlightened ideas that are finding favour in Italy , more particularly in regard to the extension of the system of State education . We have often heard it remarked that

the Komish Church was the enemy of enlightenment and advancement , but we could never bring ourselves to believe there was really any truth in the

The Grand Orient Of Italy.

accusation ; yet in what light other than this can we regard the utterances of so distinguished a Catholic advocate as the Tablet ? After referring to the presence at the festival of some of the most distinguished Italian Statesmen , our contemporary says : —

" The Grand Master , in proposing tbe principal toast , referred in terms of jubilation to the triumphs of liberal legislation prepared by Masonry , thus taking on himself the credit of having inspired the leading measures of the present administration . According to the correspondent of the Italie , he enumerated those whioh were more especially dne to the Masonio initiative , among whioh , as might be

expected , that on the OperePte held a high place . As regards State Edncation , it may be inferred that what has been already done in this direction is but an instalment of what is to come , as his allusion to it was rather a pions wish for the farther advancement of the views of his fellows than a congratulation on what has been already achieved . He went on to affirm that Masonry neither commands nor

serves any government , but makes use of all for securing the triumph of its ideals , concluding with tbe annonncement that a fnnd of 20 , 000 francs would be raised for the erection in Rome of a monument to Giuseppe Mazzini . Thus the insnlt to the Vatican , conveyed in the apotheosis of the arch-heretic of the Renaissance , will have its counterpart in the defiance hurled at the Qairinal by

the honours paid to the arch-rebel of modern Italy . The speech of the Grand Master was followed by that of Signor Giovanni Bovio , in which the reform of higher education was again pressed at greater length , an insistence to whioh the presence among the guests of the Under Secretary for the Department responsible for it gave added significance . Signor Fortis , the Badioal Under

Secretary for the Home Office , also took part in the proceedings , and made a speech invoking the redemption of the masses , but veiling with judicious vagueness the means to be employed to that end . Some speculation has been excited by tbe facility with whioh the 20 , 000 franca for the statue of Mazzini were fonnd on the instant , and as the list of subscribers has not been published , there is ample

scope for conjecture as to the sonroe from which they have been supplied . Signor Lemmi , the Grand Master , has decreed that this new ornament to the city is to be bestowed on it solely by the Order over which he presides , and that the hononr of subscribing to it is to be reserved exclusively for Freemasons , 'who thus adopt the Italian Revolution as the special work of their organisation . Official

pressure is meantime being exercised in favonr of the further extension of the latter , and Signor Fortis , Signor Crispi ' a Secretary , with zeal rekindled by the symposium of the 2 nd , has written to all the Prefects not yet enrolled as Masons to join the Society as quickly as possible , of course , spontaneously moved thereto . The alternative is left to their imaginations , whioh will not fail to suggest to them

speedy transference to the retired list as the penalty of non-com . plianoe . In any country , save Italy , the conversion of a Ministerial department into a reorniting office for a secret society wonld be con . sidered a scandal , but under the rSgime at present prevailing io that country it is accepted as a matter of course . Meantime the programme of the Lodges is being carried ont as regards edncation

in the new measure of Signor Boselli , already adverted to in these coin ton 8 # ******** ## " Those who refuse to see in these measures of continental liberal , ism , so-called , proof of an organised system of hostility to religion , must be wilfully blind to the evidence of facts . The sacred name of freedom invoked to shield the first stealthy approaches towards

the capture of the whole educational system , can no longer be nsed to justify acts whioh annihilate all individual liberty of action . - For the individual , ' says Ledrn-Rollin , who certainly cannot be accused of reactionary tendencies , ' there is no greater suffering than the oppression of bis conscience ; nor greater oppression of conscience

that the deportation of his children to the schools ; this conscription of infancy is only adapted to drag us violently into the hostile camp and to serve the enemy . ' It has , however , been adopted in the all . powerful conventicles of Freemasonry , and the irreversible fiat of that body has gone forth for its enforcement in Italy . "

The Tablet then proceeds to enumerate some of the effects of the system it ascribes to Freemasonry , amongst other matters pointing to the increased number of suicides in France , and tracing them to