Original Correspondence.

tribution by brethren of a small sum per annum towards a provincial fund , to provide for the education of orphan children of the province at schools in the immediate neighbourhood of their homes until their election to the schools , or the time when an opportunity shall occur for enabling them to earn their own living . In this there is nothing

antagonistic to existing institutions , nothing subversive of the landmarks of Masonry . Neither novelty nor origi nality is claimed for the idea , as the similar machinery is at work in other provinces . Priority was yielded to the Oliver Memorial . I now venture to think , that the suggestions thrown out in your leader of January 12 th may

reasonably be acted upon in our province , and with that view I pen these lines in the hope that our brethren will , as P . M ; says , be " stirred up , " not only in this matter , but in all others where their zeal may be flagging . I am , dear Sir and Brother , yours fraternally , A LINCOLNSHIRE W . M .

THE GRAND MASTER OF SWEDEN . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , Referring to the communication to the Sunday Times , quoted in your most valued journal of the 19 th eif Jan ; , may I be permitted to observe that our Most Worshipful Grand Master , 1 .. R . II . the Crown Prince of

Denmat k vvas not re-elected on the jrth of January , for tlie simple reason that , in accordance with the Swcelish Rite , which is the system strictly observed in Denmark , the Grand Master , bang once elected , retains his throne in the Orient , vmvil the Grand Architect . . { the Universe calls

him to enter that lodge where the light of truth shineth for ever . Fraternally yours , ROBERT D . L . LAING . Representative of thc Grand Lodge of England in the Grand Lodge of Denmark .

OUR CHARITIES . To the Editor of the " Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — In your last week ' s paper I see a letter signed "Vice-President . " My opinion is that every lodge , both town and country , should subscribe every year to the three

Charities—there surely cannot be any difficulty in an arrangement of this kind being carried out ; the Charities would not then require to be benefitted by the very questionable mode of lotteries , which we have heard so m uch about lately . Yours faithfully , M . M .

DR . MOON'S WORK FOR THE BLIND . To the Editor ofthe " Freemason . " Dear Sir , — Encloscel is a summary of our labour for the Blind during the year 1877 . You will see that I have now adapted my type to 131 languages , and wc expect demands will be made during the present year for many

of our specimens not yet brought into use . We have lately sent away a large number of books in the Armenian language , anel are preparing a quantity to send to Japan as a present from Sir Charles Lowther . They will form the first Free Leneling Library for the Blind of Japar , that has yet been initiated . We have

commenced sterce ty-. ing Isaiah in the Swcelish language , and the Pilgrims Progress in thc Arabic language . A large order for books has just come from Australia , where wc sent a great quantity last year . 1 semain , yours very truly , W . MOON .

[ We are much pleased 111 being permitted to publish this truly interesting letter . The Summary alluelcel to will appear in the Masonic Magazine for April . —ED . ]

COINCIDENCE OR DESIGN—WHICH ? To Ihe Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir anel Brother , — Was Raffaellc d'Urbino a Freemason ? Had he passed the chair ? Was there an analogous elegree to the present one of I . M . conferred in his day ? If so , were the s ' s and g ' s similar to those now communicated ?

1 must be very guarded in raising the question , rcmbcring lhat I am au I . M ., but the point , I venture to think , will prove rot uninteresting to those who love to examine the history and antiquities of thc traditions of thc Order . I have recently had occasion to make a close examination of the celebrated cartoons by Raffaelle in the Museum

of South Kensington—at ( cast 1 believe they are there ; they were formerly at Hampton Court . My investigation was made by the aid of gooel engravings , which are numerous and pretty generally 6 i „ usetl , aTiil I wish , if you would kindly afforel me the opportunity , to appeal to the brethren of the degree of I . M . who love researches in Masonic antiquarian lore , to inspect these cartoons , cither in themselves

or their well-known reproductions ( there arc seven of them preserved ou 1 , of the eleven originally executed ) , and let your readers know , if you will courteously lend yourself to the promulgation of the speculations of thc enquirers , whether anything in any one of the designs ( for the reason I have alluded to above I dare not be more explicit , anel , therefore , shall not inelicate the particular one that has

suggested this communication ) recalls the impressive ceremonial when any one individual enquirer among the worshipful brethren was first qualified to " pass the chair . " The well-known elialogue recorded by Elias Ashmole as having been current in the reign of Henry VI . — " Are

Freemasons guelhcr ( sic ) than other men ? ' is now generally icgareled as spurious , but it is at least curious , if only as a coincieience , to trace within half a century of the assumed elate of this concoction a—a—something that exactly resembles—a—p . —something else—if it be something else —in the elegree every P . M . has taken .

Original Correspondence.

The field of investigation is narrowed in point of date . Leo X . succeeded Julius IL , in 1313 ( tem . Hen . VIII . Ang . ) This Pope commissioned the then already emincnl artist , Raffaelle d'Urbino , to design eleven sketches of subjects from sacred history , to be worked up and completed in tapestry , for the purpose of decorating the lower walls of the Sistine Chapel . The work was completed and the

tapestry itself hung in its appointed place on St . Stephen ' s Day , December 26 th , 1519 . But previously to this the completed pictures , as cartoons , had been for about two years in thc hands of the Dutch artist Bernard Van Orley , a pupil of the designer , for the purpose of reproduction in needlework . Assuming then that the commission was given one year from the accession of the holy patron , we

get a limit to our enquiry of three years , or may formulate the question thus : Between 1514 and 1517 were the aporreta of an I . M . the same as those in use at present ? YVas , in short , what I allude to ( and I hope that any brother whose views and conclusions of his investigations

into the subject you may be courteous enough to allow to appear in your columns will be as cautious in his communication as I have endeavoured to be ) the result of an accidental coincidence or of a design to manifest the possession of occult knowledge ? Verbum sap . Yours fraternally , S . P ., P . M . No . 002 and 1401 .

KENNING'S MASONIC CYCLOP .-EDI .. Dear Bro . Kenning , — I rejo ce to think that your gallant literary venture is now faiily launched on the somewhat uneasy sea of Masonic criticism , and cm only congratulate you on the completion of the unelertaking , which has required aliketime and labour on the part of the Wii'c-, and patience and

forbearance on the part of the Subscnbers . All will agree , I think , how well the work is printed and " got up , " but I must apologisefor many unavoidable errata , especially in the German wore ' s , which are an almost insurmountable " crux " to English printers to-eUy . I am annoyed by readingthatatp .-igcpS . unilei" Literature of Masonry , " the reference to " Masonic Literature "

is in vain . That is one of those errors which will occur m a work , csp-. cially when thc " text " is arranged by letters . I also sec that at page , ^ ir , under" Iliram " arethe words , " sec supplement . " It was intended to have a " supplement" when those words were written , but the advisability of publishing thc work made mc at the last moment , ( te > save time , and to soothcthc complaintst f subscribers ) , give the idea of a supplement .

I shall be happy to receive friendly infermatmn of any slips of the pen or actual errata , anil shall hope to amend them in a second edition . In the mi an while , I beg to anticipate , by this fiank confession , all complaints as to possible mistakes and special shortcomings . I am , dear Bro . Kenning , yours fraternally , A . F . A . WOOD . onn . to , Upper Porches ter-street , II ) de Park-square . Feb . 2 , 3 rd , 1878 .

Bro. Desmons' Report.

BRO . DESMONS' REPORT .

As many allusions have been maele to this report , we think it well to give a caieful translation of it , for the information of our brethren : — My Brethren , —Your commission before studying the " Vceu , " which has been submitted to its appreciation has pre-occupied itself with a precedent question .

It has askctl this question : —If the study of the " Vceu " was altogether opportune in this year's Convent ? It has heard successively the delegates of the nine " Bureaux , " who , by six voices against three , have pronounced the affirmative . Each of these members has recalled thc different objections which had been presented in his separate bureau .

Permit me , my brethren , to make them pass rapidly under your eyes , and to follow them with the observations which they have raised in the body eif the comnis ion . Take care , it has been s ; id to us , if you actually suppress the article of your Constitution , you are about to separate the Grand Orient of Fiance from all the Masonic powers in the woild . Ycu are about to isolate it in the

mid-t of Universal Freemasonry . If you suppress this anicle , — it was added , —you will cause a mournful agitation to spiing up in our lodges , anel provoke even in the Grand Oiicnt of France itself , a regrettable situation . Lastly , if yru suppress this article , are you not afraid that the declared enemies of our Order will profit by our decision to spread calumnies on all Masons , elenouncing

them to thc piofanc woild , as Materialists or Atheists ? And under present circumstances , must not this denunciation be injurious to Masonry itself ; and above all to these noble and generous ideas which arc its mission to defend and propagate . Such are , my brethren , if I elo not deceive myself , the principal objections which the partizans of theae'joutnment

of the discussion have addressed to us . There is no need , my brethren , for us to say how unanimously the members of the commission have recognized not only thc incontestable sincerity eif these ol jeclions which have been submitted to us , but also the importance of each of them . There is no need to say , above all , with what legitimate

deference the commission has received the altogether fraterral objections 1 f him , who for so many years represented the Grand Orient of France , anel to whose indefatigable elevotion the Assembly again this year has just rendered so striking and so legitimate an acknowledgment . Nevertheless , my brethren , in virtue of that atlage which is ot : r device for all .

" Amicus Plato , seel maj-is arnica Veritas , " Ycur commission , with a sentiment of respectful independence has successively studied each of these ol jections , anel here is the reply . which it has thought its duty conscientiously to give to them . You fear , you say , if we actually

Bro. Desmons' Report.

suppress this article , the isolation of the Grand Orient in the midst of universal Freemasonry . But is not this argument the same which was in voked scarcely seven years ago , against the suppression of the Grand Mastership , which was made use of formcily against the admission in our lodges of men of colour , and against the representation of the High Grades in our annual Convent ?

Well , what has arrived nevertheless ? Our Masonic Assemblies have not allowed themselves to be stopped by this obstacle which they were made to anticipate , and to-day our relations with other Masonic powers are , as far as I know , neither less cordial nor less extended . * Besides , my brethren , I woultl say to those who from an excessive prudence , perhaps , or from the fear of seeing the

Grand Orient of France too much isolated , reject this innovation as dangerous , I would siy to them , I repeat ; we ate not either the only ones , nor thc first to enter into the way we propose . Already in the Grand Lodge of Buenos Ayres , the reform has been effected . Already , the lodge which has been formed in Hungary has adopted a Constitution which is based on ours , but from which it

has taken care to banish the article which occupies us at this hour ; and nearer to us , lastly , the Grand Orient of Italy has adopted a like resolution . f Therefore , be reassured , my brethren . Do not fear for our Order its isolation in the Masonic world . There are al ready intrepid pioseers who have advanced before us on this path . Be assured that we shall soon have numerous

imitators . * Again , my brethren , you who think , perhaps , that this formula has been printed on the frontispiece of our Constitution for all time , you will not be , perhaps , slightly astonished to hear that it is on the contrary of very recent tlate . I hael the opportunity only yestertl _ y of running through the different Constitutions which have ruled our

Order . Well , elo you know at what epoch it vvas introduced : There is no need of any kind to ask for that of the prehistoric times , or even to go back to the deluge . It was only in 1849 tna ' we St * e * it for the first time make its appearance in the bosom of our Gonstiiution . il You see then , my brethren , that that which we ask of

you is not a dangerous innovation , but purely and simply a return to a previous situation . But it has been saitl to us , in addition , do we not risk , in voting the suppression of this article , casting trouble and division in the midst of our lotlges ? It appears to your commission that this fear is chimerical . If , indecel , thc Convent of this year was occupied for the

first time with this question ; if without having previously considered it , this assembly , by an act of authority , and as if by a kind of "coup tl'etat , " if this assembly , I say , suddenly decreed its suppression , 1 understand that we might be stayed by the fear of seeing trouble and agitation introduced into our lodges , but you all know that this is not so . Ycu are not ignorant , that this question has

been , as an order of the day for some ten years . You are not ignorant , above all , that this year each of our lodges has been invited specially to study this question , anel that of the 211 lodges which have remitted the result of their deliberations , to the Grand Orient , two-thirds are favourable to the aeloption of the " Vceu . " Again , my brethren , that which

could cause trouble and agitation to arise amongst our lodges , was the fear not so much to see this " Formula " suppressed as to see it replaced by a Materialistic or Atheistic Formula . Who eloes not know , now , that no one among us , by proposing this suppression understands making a pre Session of Materialism or Atheism ? In this respect is not every misconstruction dispelled from

our mit els ? And if in some lodges there still can remain some doubt on the subject , let them know that your Commission declares loudly , that in adhering to Vceu IX ., it p oposes no other end , but that of proclaiming absolute liberty of conscience . How then , my brethren , 1 ask ycu , can the proclamation

of such a principle , which is altogether that of the whole of Masonry , agitate and trouble our lodges ? No , we have more confidence in them , anil wc think tbat , better informed of the true end to which we are going , those who still feel some scruples , and some hesitation , will finish by rangir . g themselvesaround that magnificent flag , whose tutelary shadow is capable of protecting equally all

opinions and all beliefs . As to the calumnies which clericalism is about to hurl against us , my brethren , we must expect them . But do you think that you woulel escape from them , even if you elid not accept the Vrcu , or that you refcrreei its consideration to the next Convent ? Ah ! I fear much my brethren , that you only eleceive

yourselves on this point . No , no . Our adversaries are implacable , and the frewh delay which we give to resolve the question which has been submitted to us , would have no result , bs convinced , but to make them accuse us of joining fear and hypocrisy to

impiety . As to the consequences which our discussion might have in the profane world , I elo not fear them . From the point of view of the civil power what have we to fear ? In studying this question do we trespass upon a property which belongs to it ? Do we invade its rights ? We

* Bro . Desmon ' s argument here is a petitio prfticipii altogether . No Masonic power as far as we know , has approved of the act . f Bro . Desmons is wrong as to Italy and Hcmgary , and the Grand Lodge of Buenos Ayres , we believe ,

represents six lodges and about 200 Masons . % Bro . Desmons must see by this time that his prophecy is likely to remain unfulfilled . II Bro . Desmons is very fond of using the word " sein , " which is somewhat difficult to translate .