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To ADVERTISERS . THE Circulation of THE FREEMASON being now at the rate of nearly Half-a-miUion per annum , 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 j and as Tlie Freemason is 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 .

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NOTICE ? The Subscription to THE FREEMASON is now 10 s . per annum , post-free , payable in advance . Vol . I ., bound in cloth 4 s . 6 d . Vol . II ., ditto 7 . S . 6 d . Reading Cases to hold 52 numbers ... 2 s . 6 d .

Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

MARRIAGES . BAGSUAW—CLARK . —On the 24 th ult ., at St . Peter ' s , Kensington , by the Rev . XV . S . Bagshaw , rector of Thrapston , Northamptonshire , uncle of the bridegroom , assisted by Rev . Francis Holland , M . A ., incumbent of Quebec Chapel , Bro . Robert John Bagshaw , Prov .

G . Master for Essex , to Emma Ann , second daughter of the late Matthew Clark , Esq ., of 26 , Pembridgesquare . [ No cards . ] VANDYKE—HARRIS . —November 23 rd , at Meyerbeer Hall , Liverpool , by the Rev . J . Prag , l'ro . A . Vandyke , of the Merchants' Lodge , No . 241 , to Sarah Frances , eldest daughter of Julius Harris , Esq .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

—?—All communications for THE FREEMASON should be written legibly on one side of the paper only , and , if intended for insertion in the current number , must be received not later than 10 o ' clock a . m . on Thursdays , unless in very special cases . The . iiamc and address of every writer must be sent to us in confidence .

JUSTITIA . —In lodges under the English Constitution a blind man may be made a Mason , his misfortune in that respect being no bar to his admission into the Order . G . J . W . —The Master having opened his lodge in the three degrees may resume , reopen , or close it in any degree , provided he closes it afterwards in the first degree .

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The Freemason , SATURDAY , DECEMBER 3 , 1 S 70 .

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THE FKEHMASON is published on Saturday Monvn ^ s in time for the early trains . The price of TUB FKKKMASON is Twopence per week ; annual subscription , IOS . ( payable in advance ) . All communications , letters , & c , to be addressed to the EDITOR , « , 3 , and 4 , Little liritain , ICC . The Editor will pay careful attention to all MSS . entrusted to himhut cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied by postage stamps .

Education.

EDUCA TION .

AT theprcsent time when our legislature and the public generally arc full of the pregnant theme of education , it may be well to remember , that Freemasonry plays a not

unimportant part among the many teachers of mankind ; and that it Advances claims as a moral institution which ought to be more widelyacknowledgcd and understood . Light ,

or " more light as the dying poet said , is the burden of our cry ; irradiate the dark corners of men ' s hearts , and flood their souls with luminous rays of wisdom . It is the mission

of every true Mason to assist in dispelling the clouds of ignorance and folly ; it is his duty to aid the development of reason , and

to stimulate the growth of learning . ] 3 ut it is also his highest and noblest privilege to promote the happiness of others , to

Education.

awaken men ' s faculties to a just perception of their mutual dependence upon their fellow-creatures , and to strenuously impress

upon them ever to remember that the law of Freemasonry is kindness , and its religion , love . * Now it is manifest even to the most

superficial observer , that with the spread of education amongst the masses , the influence of a fraternity like ours must be incalculably increased and extended .

In all countries where instruction is general , we find that the adherents of Freemasonry may be reckoned by thousands , as for instance in the United States of

America , where nearly every considerable village boasts a lodge . The day has now fortunately arrived , when every child in

England can claim to be instructed , and apart from all religious considerations we hail the event as one which will contribute

to the Stability of our institutions , and the prosperity of the people . The foolish objection has been made by some , that if

all are to be educated we shall engender discontent amongst the proletarian many when they find it impossible to reach the social altitude of the patrician few .

This we contend is a baseless theory , inasmuch as the whole scope of learning and the wisdom derived from the experience of great writers tend to elevate the mind

without unduly elating it , and to tranquilhse those passions which in a state of ignorance brutalise and degrade their unhappy victims . Again , all are not gifted with like

talents , and we may be well assured that the boon of education will not produce very startling results in the great majority of our fellow-subjects , but it will at least tend to

make them more self-reliant , more disposed to work for the common good , and , in a word , to discharge their duties as good citizens in an intelligent and satisfactory

manner . We do not imagine that every child will become as wise as Solon , or as philosophic as Newton , but wc believe that he will grow up with a better sense and

a keener appreciation of his responsibilities as a sentient being , accountable to a Higher Power for his thoughts and actions . From men trained in this way wc select our

candidates for rreemasonry , because none but rational minds can realise the moral strength of our association or the hidden beauty of its symbolism .

An uneducated man can have little

sympathy with ceremonies which must be carefully studied before they can be understood and properly valued . It is like

leading a blind man into a garden of delightful blooms , and fancying he can admire the varied hues of the flowers around him . Bnt

to a mind which has received the impress of knowledge , and upon which the seal of intelligenceis set , Freemasonry is a sphere of enchantment with endless vistas opening

upon the horizon of thought . In theory and tradition our Order is linked with many half-forgotten mysteries of the

past : its legends are shrouded in the gray mists of antiquity ; its ceremonies arc reminiscences of primeval rites . The alle-

Education.

gorical teachings of prophets and priests , the solemn acts of primitive worship , the dramatic representations of momentous events in the world's history , are all

preserved and commemorated in the arcana of the Craft . Freemasonry is , however , not only all this , but more : it inculcates plain duties which we are but too prone to overlook

and ignore ; it enjoins the practice of virtues , the universal observance of which would make mankind one happy family , and if it appeals with force to the intellect , it directs

with even greater power the feelings of the heart . To be just and merciful , faithful , true , and charitable , these are the lessons taught in Freemasonry ; and who can

gainsay the assertion that they touch the highest and best sympathies of our nature , and evoke deeds that are registered on high . We want to bring within the pale of the

Craft men who are qualified by mental culture to be its ministers and interpreters ; and we therefore rejoice to find that the State has undertaken , what we conceive to

be its imperative duty , to provide scholastic training for the youth of the realm . An acute thinker has left on record his opinion that " it behoves the government of every

well-regulated society to provide , as far as may be in its power , for each class of its subjects , as much education , and of the best kind , as the latter are capable of receiving

with advantage to themselves and security to the public interests . " As Masons , therefore , let us aid the good work , and , above all , let our own educational establishments

be models for all others to imitate . We believe that they are extremely well conducted , and that every attention is paid to the intellectual advancement of the pupils .

In fact , the local examinations at Oxford and Cambridge have amply proved that the curriculum of study at our Boys ' School produces admirable results : and we

are equally satisfied that sound and serviceable instruction is imparted to the female children at the Girls' Institution . The whole subject of education , we repeat , is

one of the most important that can engage our attention ; and , moreover , our interest in its solution is just now intensified from a national point of view . There are , beyond

doubt , difficulties and obstacles to he overcome before the desired consummation can he attained ; but we nevertheless look forward hopefully to the time when the

ignorant and the depraved shall cease out of the land—when the money now spent in deterrent measures for the idle and vicious shall flow into nobler channels—when our

prisons shall be turned into workshops , and our dark places made bright with knowledge . We hail the advent of a happier era for the human race , when such wars as the

one . which now desolates France , and in a minor degree Germany likewise , shall have become impossibilities , because man will have learned the utter folly and madness of

invoking the sanguinary arbitrament of the sword to settle international disputes . In the progress of education and the development of refinement every Freemason is