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Article THE STATE OF MASONRY ON THE CONTINENT. ← Page 2 of 3 →
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The State Of Masonry On The Continent.
Masonry , at present , in France , is very much depressed ; the Government rather discountenancing it than otherwise , and the Lodges not being sufficiently strict in their discipline . Many irregular Lodges also exist . The bulk of the candidates for admission , at present , consist of young professional men , soldiers , and mechanics . In most of the French towns separate houses for Lodges belong to the community , of them well fitted butin of the depression
many up ; , consequence now existing , some have been given up . Shortly after the Revolution of July , Masonry made great progress ; but the decline latterly , as I have said , has been great , many of the Lodges being suspected of political bias . It must be acknowledged , that in many of the Masonic virtues , the French have by no means degenerated , —their hospitality to foreign Brethren , and benevolence to the distressed , the best characteristics of the Order existing unsulliedThe PortugueseSpanishand
. , , Polish emigrants have been a heavy burden upon the Funds of the Lodges , which made every exertion for their relief . The S . P . R . -f- and those of a higher rank are allowed to initiate as far as the rank of M . in case no Lodge exists within thirty miles , but the person is bound to present himself before a regularly constituted Lodge on the first opportunity . The Masonic literature of France is extensiveand there is a regular
, bookseller at Paris appointed by the Grand Orient for the supply of books , diplomas , & c . The French literature is characterized by much research ; but by little discrimination , and displays a want of knowledge with the recent Masonic literature of England . Numerous manuals for the practice of the several rites are also published . The state of the Order of Templars I may also notice . It consists in France of two branches : the Paris branch with which the English is in communication
tongue , and the Dunkirk branch . The Paris branch goes on steadily , but has been rather out of favour on account of having adopted a peculiar religious ritual ; it has convents in most of the principal cities . The Dunkirk branch , which was introduced from Poland in the last century by General Fox , is not so extensive ; it has , however , many noble supporters , and Provincial Grand Masters in the neighbouring states . It follows the ancient ritual more closely . With to
regard Belgium , it may be remarked , that Masonry is very limited , being confined to Orangemen and liberal Catholics , the Church denouncing it frequently from the pulpit , and the law being opposed to it as a secret association . There are several Lodges at Brussels and Ghent , also others at Ostend , Mechlin , & c . The rites practised are the French and French Scotch . The local law authorities have several times threatened to interfere with the Lodges , but no attempt has yet been made .
Of Holland and its Colonies , I need not say any thing , as Masonry is there pure and flourishing , practised according to the English model . Germany is quite a blank , Masonic emblems or diplomas being dangerous even for a traveller to carry in his baggage . In Spain , Masonry , according to the French rites , has been extended or rather re-introduced since the recent events ; but it is to be regretted that it is lected for political societies
neg . In Portugal , Masonry since its revival by the English in the beginning of this century , has been very unpopular among the priests and peasantry , with whom it is a well established belief , that Masons go out every new moon to hold conference with the devil in person . Masonry , according to tlie French rites , has been revived since the restoration of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The State Of Masonry On The Continent.
Masonry , at present , in France , is very much depressed ; the Government rather discountenancing it than otherwise , and the Lodges not being sufficiently strict in their discipline . Many irregular Lodges also exist . The bulk of the candidates for admission , at present , consist of young professional men , soldiers , and mechanics . In most of the French towns separate houses for Lodges belong to the community , of them well fitted butin of the depression
many up ; , consequence now existing , some have been given up . Shortly after the Revolution of July , Masonry made great progress ; but the decline latterly , as I have said , has been great , many of the Lodges being suspected of political bias . It must be acknowledged , that in many of the Masonic virtues , the French have by no means degenerated , —their hospitality to foreign Brethren , and benevolence to the distressed , the best characteristics of the Order existing unsulliedThe PortugueseSpanishand
. , , Polish emigrants have been a heavy burden upon the Funds of the Lodges , which made every exertion for their relief . The S . P . R . -f- and those of a higher rank are allowed to initiate as far as the rank of M . in case no Lodge exists within thirty miles , but the person is bound to present himself before a regularly constituted Lodge on the first opportunity . The Masonic literature of France is extensiveand there is a regular
, bookseller at Paris appointed by the Grand Orient for the supply of books , diplomas , & c . The French literature is characterized by much research ; but by little discrimination , and displays a want of knowledge with the recent Masonic literature of England . Numerous manuals for the practice of the several rites are also published . The state of the Order of Templars I may also notice . It consists in France of two branches : the Paris branch with which the English is in communication
tongue , and the Dunkirk branch . The Paris branch goes on steadily , but has been rather out of favour on account of having adopted a peculiar religious ritual ; it has convents in most of the principal cities . The Dunkirk branch , which was introduced from Poland in the last century by General Fox , is not so extensive ; it has , however , many noble supporters , and Provincial Grand Masters in the neighbouring states . It follows the ancient ritual more closely . With to
regard Belgium , it may be remarked , that Masonry is very limited , being confined to Orangemen and liberal Catholics , the Church denouncing it frequently from the pulpit , and the law being opposed to it as a secret association . There are several Lodges at Brussels and Ghent , also others at Ostend , Mechlin , & c . The rites practised are the French and French Scotch . The local law authorities have several times threatened to interfere with the Lodges , but no attempt has yet been made .
Of Holland and its Colonies , I need not say any thing , as Masonry is there pure and flourishing , practised according to the English model . Germany is quite a blank , Masonic emblems or diplomas being dangerous even for a traveller to carry in his baggage . In Spain , Masonry , according to the French rites , has been extended or rather re-introduced since the recent events ; but it is to be regretted that it is lected for political societies
neg . In Portugal , Masonry since its revival by the English in the beginning of this century , has been very unpopular among the priests and peasantry , with whom it is a well established belief , that Masons go out every new moon to hold conference with the devil in person . Masonry , according to tlie French rites , has been revived since the restoration of