Ad00606

To ADVERTISERS . THE Circulation of THE FREEMASON being now at the rate of nearly Haifa-million per annunii it offers peculiar facilities to all who advertise . It is well known that the Fraternity of Freemasons is a large and constantly increasing body , mainly composed of the influential and ¦ educated classes of society ; and as The Freemason ts now the accepted organ ofthe Brotherhood in the United Kingdom , and also enjoys an extensive sale in the colonies and foreign parts , its advantages as an advertising medium can scarcely be overrated . For terms apply to GEORGE KENNING , 2 , 3 , & 4 , LITTLE BRITAIN , LONDON , E . C .

Ar00600

Jta-eipf mrtr € almml ^ cjeitts . —»—AMERICA : Bro . J . FLETCHER BRENNAN , 114 , Mainstreet , Cincinnati , Ohio . „ Messrs . WOODRUFF & BLOCKER , Little Rock , Arkansas , U . S . CANADA : Messrs . DEVRIE & SON , Ottawa . CAPE OF GOOD HOPE : Bro . G EORGE BRITTAIN , Cape Town . CEYLON : Messrs . XV . L . SKEENE & Co ., Colombo . CONSTANTINOPLE : Br . J . L . HANLY , Levant Times . EAST INDIES : Allahabad : Messrs . WYMAN BROS . Bombay : Bro . M . B . COHEN . Byculla : Bro . GEO . BEASE . Central Provinces : Bro . F . J . JORDAN . Kurrachee : Bro . G . C BRAYSON . Madras : Mr . CALEB FOSTER . Mhcrai : Bro . COWASJEE NUSSERWANJEE . Poona : Bro . W . W ELLIS . GALATA : IPSICK KHAN , Perche-Bajar . IBERIA : Bro . HENRY D . BROWN , Monrovia . ARIS : M . DECHEVAUX-DUMESNIL , Rue de Harlaydu-Palais , 20 , near the Pont Neuf ; Editor Le Franc-Macon . WEST INDIES : Jamaica : Bro . JOHN A . D . SoUZA , Falmouth . Trinidad : Bros . S . CARTER and J . LEWIS , 3 , Abercrombie-strcet , Port of Spain ; and Bro . XV . A . KERNAHAN , San Fernando . And all Booksellers and Newsagents in England , Ireland , and Scotland .

Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

BIRTH . MOORE . —June 20 , at Lyme Regis , the wife of Bro . Samuel Silvester Moore ( W . M . 665 , and P . G . S . D . for Dorset ) of a son , DEA TIL HADDINGTON . —On the 25 th ultimo , the Right Hon . George , Earl of Haddington , Past Deputy Grand Master Mason of Scotland , aged 68 years .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

J . P ., M . D . —We will give the description of the ancient head-dress next week . A WARWICKSHIRE BROTHER . —1 . With reference to the appropriate dress of a Priest Mason—by which is meant , we presume , the Eusebian grade of the Red Cross Order—a loose white robe is decidedly the proper garment ; but , for the sake of uniformity , a tunic ( shaped like the purple one ) may be adopted . In every age the

Lacerdos , or Priest , has ever been distinguished by the spotless purity of his raiment . Thus , the Druids wore white flowing robes ; the Jewish High Priests wore habited " coats" and " mitres of fine linen ; " nnd the modern surplus is but the same garb adapted to the tastes of a later generation . 2 . A Prov . Grand Officer has no greater . privileges in a

lodge in his province than those enjoyed by any other Mason of equal rank ( W . M ., P . M ., & c . ); unless he holds an appointment , such as registrar or secretary , when he may claim the right , as an executive officer of the province , to express an opinion upon subjectswhich may arise in the lodge—both these officers being supposed to be well versed in the Laws of the Fraternity , and competent to instruct and geuele the brethren in

cases of difficulty . The P . G . M . anel D . P . G . M . can , of course , claim to be received by all their lodges as rulers in the Craft ; but this docs not apply to ' P . G . AVardens or subordinate officers . 3 . The W . M . of a lodge can request visitors to withdraw when domestic lodge matters are being discussed , and P . G . officers cannot claim exemption ( with the exceptions named ) from submission to the commands of the chair .

ETA . —1 . If the brethren who have not completed their Craft degrees do not desire to join the lodge to which they apply for advancement , no ballot is necessary , ns il is simply an act of courtesy on the part of one W . M . to another to confer a superior degree upon a brother who is properly vouched and recommended . Of course any Master lod

or ge can refuse to give the degrees to brethren of other lodges , there being no law to compel one lodge to finish the incomplete work of another . 2 . A brother who receives a degree as above t ' ated does not thereby become a member of the lodge * He must be regularl y proposed and elected in the usual way .

Ar00603

The Freemason , SATURDAY , J 2 , 1870 .

Ar00607

THE FREEMASON is published on Saturday Mornings in time for the early trains . The price of TUK FREEMASON is Twopence per week ; quarterly subscription ( including postage ) 3 s . 3 d . Annual Subscription , 12 s . Subscriptions payable in advance . All communications , letters , & c , to be addressed to the EDITOR , 2 , 3 , and 4 , Little Uritain , E . C . The Editor will pay careful attention to all MSS . entrusted to him but cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied by postage tamps .

English Freemasonry.

ENGLISH FREEMASONRY .

WE have great satisfaction in making known to all whom it may concern , that some progress has already been made towards the realization of that fraternal union

between the unrecognised Orders connected with the English Craft , which has been so warmly advocated in these columns . The advantages to be derived from a federation

of the various Masonic jurisdictions in England are obviously great ; not only will more regularity in conferring the degrees and

better discipline be observed in each of the bodies , but the influence to be acquired from united action on any particular point will be unquestionably powerful .

In suggesting the establishment of a Coucil of Rites , we were careful to state that its authority should in no case be permitted tointerferewith the supreme rights of

each Masonic body to regulate its own internal affairs , but in all matters in which the prerogatives of all the high contracting

parties were concerned , the decisions of the Council should be held to be binding upon all .

We are informed that a treaty is now being ncgociated between the Supreme Grand Council 33 and the Grand Conclave of Knights Templar , and also that

committees have been appointed by the Red Cross Imperial Council and the Grand Lodge of Mark Masters , for the promotion of a similarobject . We are thus rapidly

approaching a solution of the difficulty , and we congratulate the brethren who arc members of these degress upon the Masonic spirit they have shown in the initiation of so

praiseworthy a movement . It has been gravely said by no less a Mason than Bro . Findel , of Leipsic , that in supporting the consolidation of the higher degrees , THE

FREEMASON is endeavouring to Christianise the Craft , and that only one step further is needed to place English Masons on the straight road to Rome . A more singular

misconception of our meaning could not possibly be made . All our efforts have been , and still are , directed to the maintenance of the UNIVERSALITY OF THE

CRAFT ; our utterances on this point have been neither uncertain nor confused ; upon all occasions wc have proclaimed the doctrine , that no man should be excluded

from the privileges of Freemasonry on accountof his colour , creed , or clime . In remarkingthatthe old Operative Constitutions

are of a Christian character , we simply stated a truism , and every Masonic student knows that Christian allusions abounded in the ritual of English Masonry until the re-

English Freemasonry.

vision at the Union in 1813 . But we have never advocated the re-adoption of a single line or letter which might militate against the universality of the Three Degrees , or offend the ear of any conscientious brother .

The High Grades are , however , we consider , the natural resource of all who cherish the Christian forms and symbols which were formerly found in eveiy Craft Lodge . The

Encampment or Conclave enables men to meet , who are imbued with the same principles and guided by the same faith . It is no more a hardship to shut out a Jew or a

Mahommedan from an assembly of Knights Templar , than it is to say he cannot be an Archbishop , or a President of the Wesleyan Conference . His status as a

Mason is not affected in any way by his ineligibility to become a Red Cross Knight , or a Knight of Malta . And there cannot

be a doubt , that so long as the portals of Freemasonry are open to all worthy men , irrespective of their religious belief , there will ever bc found some who will seek a

closer communion with those of their fellows who worship at the same shrine and are sharers of the same hope . Of the teachings and symbolism of the

so-called Christian degrees , we have already spoken , and it may be safely affirmed that like those of the Craft , they inculcate nothing but the purest principles of piety

and virtue . Let any Mason , who may imagine that the ceremonial observances of these degrees arc vain and frivolous , peruse with attention tlie writings of such men as

Pike and McClenachan upon the liturgy of the Ancient and Accepted Rite . It is scarcely possibly to conceive the philosophic depth and the profound wisdom of the

lessons therein conveyed . Therefore , to quote the words of an eloquent writer , which amply illustrate the point , " If it be asked for what good are the superior degrees

cultivated ? " we might answer that as to personal benefits , the opportunity to " do good and communicate "—to practise all the Masonic virtues , as well as enjoy all the

pleasures of fellowship and sociality , so far as these arc considered within the sphere of the Masonic acquirements of any brotherthe original working degrees of Ancient

Craft Masonry will for him suffice . Only to one who wishes to attain a more extensive knowledge of , and become fully accomplished in , the religious , philosophic , and

ehivalric departments of our Order , as they were cultivated i : i the different ages of the world gone by , as well as at the present day , would we recommend initiation into

the high degrees . He only will bc competent to appreciate tlie honours and privileges attached to them , who possesses the disposition and ability lo study the deeper

andliighcrmysteriesofourKabbaIa , and who will not rest satisfied until he has discovered a satisfactory solution to every Masonic problem , and can , in every case , explain

dcqiiofabiilitmiiarratur ; who can thoroughly understand the moral mysteries as well as those of art and science , which our legends unfold , and who has a laudable ambition to