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TO OUR READERS . The F REEMASON is a Weekly Newspaper , price _ d . It is published every Friday morning , and contains the most important , interesting , and useful information relating to Freemasonry in every degree . Subscription , including postage : United America , India , India , China , & c Kingdom , thc Continent , & c . Via Brinelisi .

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Advertisements and other business communications should be adelressed to the Publisher . Communications on literary subjects and books for review are to be forwarded to the Editor . Anonymous correspondence will be wholly disregarded , and the return of rejected MSS . cannot be guaranteed . Further information will be supplied on application to h e Publisher , 198 , Fleet-street , London .

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NOTICE . To prevent delay or miscarriage , it is particularly requested that ALL communications for the FREEMASON - , may be addressed to the Office , 198 , Fleet-street , London .

ADVERTISEMENTS to ensure insertion in current week's issue should reach the Oflice , 198 , Fleet-street , hy 12 o ' clock on "Wednesdays .

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TO ADVERTISERS . The FBEEM .-. SON has a large circulation in all parts of thc Globe , its advantages as an advertising medium can herefore scarcely be overrated .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

Letters from thc following will appear next week : — " Disappointed , " C . Pulaski , " "Truth , " "John Yarker . " In the Freemason of January 5 th , 1878 , page 4 , the letter headed " The Landmarks of Freemasowy" should have becn signed Robert Laing , of Copenhagen , anil not Vcrti .

Important Notice

IMPORTANT NOTICE

COLONIAL and FOREIGN SUBSCRIBERS are informed that acknowledgments of remittances received are published in the first number of even * month .

It is very necessary for our readers to advise us of all money orders they remit , more especially those from the United States of America and India- otherwise we cannot tell where to credit them .

Several P . O . O . are now m hand , but having received no advice we cannot credit them .

REMITTANCES RECEIVED . £ s . d . Anderson , F . G ., South Africa ... ... 1 6 o Atkins , B ., New York o 12 o Baiker , W ., Egypt o 13 o Coleman , C , Bombay ... ... ... o 12 o

Davis , S ., The Cape ... 140 Finch , E ., San Fernando ... ... ... 0120 Graham , T ., The Cape o 13 o Halkctt , J no ., „ 19 6 Hampton , Jno ., ,, 140 Harrington , T . D ., Ottawa ... ... ... o 12 o

Imlath , B . W ., Dcmarara 140 Jennings , J . B ., Cawnpore 160 Johnson , F . A ., Paris o 12 o Lodge Deccan , No . 1444 , Chudderghaut ... 140 „ Port Alfred , No . 1468 , Thc Cape ... 240 Mason , J . J ., Ontario o 12 o Oliver , J . C , New York 140

Partridge , A . F ., Canada ... ... ... o 12 o Rastall , J . Hd , Philadelphia ... o 12 2 Robertson , Harry , Colombo ... ... ... 188 Smith , W . C , Trinidad 280 Thorpe , 11 ., Bombay ... 19 6 Whymark , G ., Kobe ... o 13 o Yates , W ., Australia 160

Births ,Marriages And Deaths.

Births , Marriages and Deaths .

[ The charge is 2 s . 6 d . for announcements , not exceeding four lines , under this heading . ] BIRTHS . BnAiisiiAW . —On the 25 th ult ., at Knovvle , Guildford , the wife of A . H . Bradshaw , Esq ., of a daughter . LEITH . —On the 22 nd ult ., at The Mount , Ascot , the wife of Major T . Leith , of a son . STAIIKEV . —On the 22 nd ult ., at Camden-road , the wife of R . W . Starkey , of a elaughter , who only survived a few hours .

DEATHS . ELTON . —On Dec . 19 , on an expedition to Lake Nyassa , aged 37 , Capl . J . Frederick Elton . GitAzi-iiiiooic . —On thc 19 th ult ., at Norland-square , Notting-hill , John Worrall Grazebrook , Esq ., agetl -. 3 .

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The Freemason , SATURDAY , MARCH 2 , 1 S 78 .

The Next Quarterly Communication.

THE NEXT QUARTERLY COMMUNICATION .

Few more important "Agenda Papers have ever been submitted to the notice of Grand Lodge than that which we print elsewhere to-day . In the first place the Pro Grand Master will submit the report of the Special Committee with reference tothe change in the Constitutions

of the French Grand Orient . Without knowing anything about its purport , or recommendations , we feel satisfied of this , that it will be alike worthy the attention and above all the support of Grand Lodge . The adjourned debate on the proposed modification of the Board of

Benevolence will attract , as it demands , the attention of the brethren . We say at once that we are among those who now are of opinion , honestly , that the present system is unworkable and liable to great abuses . What we mean is , that under the present arrangement the distribution of our

Masonic chanty is not made on prin cip le , and with the best effect , or the soundest results . It is too often the case that a principle decided at one lodge is upset at another ; nay we have known of a meeting where the same principle was upset the same evening , owing to

the florid eloquence of a pleading brother . Hence our administration of charity becomes haphazard , so to say , is affected by the personal influence or the special eloquence of the pleader . Whereas , the true principle of pdministration of our charity would appear to be this , that we should have

certain '' standing orders " or bye-laws for our guidance , with a large margin of liberal interpretation , so as to avoid anything like red tape or a hard-and-fast line . But having ' said all this , we do not deny that there are some difficulties in the way of a change . We felt them once ourselves

strongly , we cannot therefore conscientiously deny or overlook their existence in others . One of the main difficulties is the surrender of the privileges of the W . Masters . It is no doubt very great , and it is a good deal to ask of them , but as Freemasons we should enquire , is it

or is it not for the welfare of the Order , for the improvement of our system of charitable relief ? We would , therefore , impress upon our readers , not to vote against the change , simply because it takes away a privilege from the VV . M ., but to look at the question broadly and liberally , for the

good of the Craft and for the better administration of charity . We venture to think , that any change should be alike modest and moderate , merely a modification , not an uprooting of the old system . We would keep the old form of the Lodge of Benevolence , and have the President

and two Vice-Presidents nominated by the Grand Master annually . We would form a Board of fifty-two members , of whom thirteen should be W . Masters of the London lodges , thirteen should be W . Masters of the provincial lodges , thirteen should be Present or P _ st Grand Officers ,

thirteen should be Present or Past Provincial Grand Officers , being Past Masters . Thus , with the President and two Vice-Presidents , and fifty-two actual members , we should have a workable Board , with a certainty of a good margin of present members .

This Board would have the power to draw up bye-laws , to be approved by Grand Lodge , laying down certain conditions of grants , and the like . It has been suggested that perhaps the W . Masters would be more satisfied if they were elected directlv to the Board , so saving their existing

rights . We could see no reason or practical difficulty , why the W . Masters should not meet once a year under the presidency of the Grand Registrar , and elect the proportion of W . Masters , metropolitan and provincial , to the Board . Grand Lodge would only elect the Present and Past Grand Officers , and Present and Past

Provincial Grand Officers , being Past Masters . We note the amendments of Bros . Tebbs and Gould . We fear that the suggestions of our esteemed Bro . Tebbs are a little intricate , and involve a principle which there will be some difficulty in applying pratically , as leading to an " imperium in imperio . " We are in accord with Bro . Gould on principle . But we have said enough to show

The Next Quarterly Communication.

the importance and delicacy , and , we will add , difficulty of the subjects to be brought before Grand Lodge . We have no doubt lhat there will be a good attendance . All will be glad to hear of the flourishing state of the Grand Lodge finances .

Bro. Thevenot And The " Freemason."

BRO . THEVENOT AND THE " FREEMASON . "

We published last week a long letter from Bro . Thevenot , with its translation , and we think it well to day , according to our promise , to make a few remarks upon it , leaving to Bro . Maskelyne to send his own reply , if he deems it needful , to Bro . Thevenot ' s fetter . 1 . With regard

to Bro . Hubert , we have already given his [ own explanation , why he declined the unanimous re-election to the Masters' Chair , and do not profess to understand in what way Bro . Thevenot could find fault with

our remarks . We have merely re-echoed Bro . Hubert ' s own words , if you like , paraphrastically , in saying that , disapproving of the past , uneasy for the present , and fearful of the future , he declines to be the W . Master of his lodge . We have never said that he has left the Grand Orient

of France , or that any lodge has yet done so , and therefore Bro . Thevenot is fighting with shadows . We have simply asserted what Bro . Hubert himself has asserted , and nothing more . If Bro . Thevenot thinks Bro . Hubert ' s refusal to

accept the chair of his old lodge is a matter of no moment , we entirely tlisagree with him . It is an act of much significance and importance , and cannot be passed over " sub silentio . " 2 . With respect to Bro . Marchal , wa took the statement from the " Bulletin du Grand Orient , " edited by Bro . Thevenot himself . The incident is

mentioned , both in the Chaine d Union , and in the Monde Maconnh / tte , as a fact , and no hint is given that Bro . Marchal has reconsidered his decision . He may have done so , as Bro . Thevenot asserts , but we could not be aware of the fact , which was apparently not known to

Bro . Hubert , or Bro . Caubet , or even to Bro . Thevenot himself ! We could only properly draw our facts from official documents . We may add , that in the meeting of the Council of the 24 th December , it was also said that the Lodge of Nancy einly continued in obedience to the

Grand Orient on condition that the rituals were not modified , ls this condition also withdrawn ? Perhaps Bro . Thevenot will kindly tell us when Bro . Marchal agreed to return to the duties of the chair . We need hardly observe that the whole matter of the recent proceedings in the

French Grand Orient has been the cause of deep regret to all Freemasons in England . While there always has been manifested , on our part , the greatest good feeling towards French Freemasons , and while we have made the most charitable allowances for the difficult position of the

Grand Orient itself , we had a right to expect that the Grand Orient of France would continue loyal to the sound traditions of Cosmopolitan Freemasonry , and not , as Bro . Hubert so well puts it , degrade French Freemasonry to the " ruck" of a sect , in order to please

a noisy and intolerant faction . As English Freemasons , we are , as all the world knows , earnestly and passionately attached to the honour and fair fame , zealous for the orderly and religious character of Freemasonry , and we should deserve the name of moral cowards or abject apostates , were we ashamed to acknowledge ourunchanged

and unchanging belief inT . G . A . O . T . U . Let us all hope that more peaceful times and a happier future are yet in store for French Freemasonry . We recommend all our brethren to read and to study Bro . Hubert ' s thoughtful and guarded words , as given in our last , if they wish to realize what is the present crisis , what the eventual condition may be of French Freemasonry .

The Election Of A New Pope

THE ELECTION OF A NEW POPE

The good old Pope has been consigned to his niche in St . Peter ' s , and a new Pope wears the Fisherman ' s ring and sits in Cathedra Petri . The new Pope is Cardinal Joachim Pecci . He was born in the town of Carpineto , in the Papal States , on the 2 nd March , ISIO , so that in a few davs l * ewiIlhavecompIetcdhis _ - > th vear . Hewas