Important Notice.

IMPORTANT NOTICE .

We have great pleasure in announcing that we have decided to publish THE FREEMASON —commencing loith Volume III ., January 1 st ,

1870—on toned paper , and icith old-faced type , similar to that used b y the Pall Mall Gazette and other hig h-class publications .

The size will also be permanentl y enlarged to Sixteen Pages , and , loith other improvements contemplated , THE FREEMASON loill then be the leading weekl y organ of the Craft throughout the globe .

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TO ADVERTISERS . THE Circulation of THE FREEJIASON being now at the rate of nearly Half-a-Million 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 ; and as ® Ij £ jTiC . cmtts 0 n is now the accepted organ of the Brotherhood in the United Kingdom , and also enjoys an extensive sale in the colonies arid foreign parts , its advantages as an advertising medium can scarcely be overrated . For terms apply to GEOEGE KEMIM , 3 & 4 , LITTLE BRITAIN , LONDON , E . C .

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J-nrarjii aitir Colonial ^ jjents . —?—AMERICA : Bro . J . FLETCHER , BRENNAN , 114 , Mainstreet , Cincinnati , Ohio . „ Messrs . AVOODRUFI" and BLOCUEB , Little Rock , Arkansas , U . S . CANADA : Messrs . DI ' . VIUE & SON , Ottawa . CAPK OF GOOD HOPE : Bro . GEORGE : BRITTAIN , Cape Town . CEYLON : Messrs . AV . L . SKEENE & Co ., Columbo . CONSTANTINOPLE : Bro . J . L . HANLT , Levant Times . EAST INDIES : Allahabad : Messrs . AVYMAS Buos . Bjiculla : Bro . GEO . BBASE . Central Provinces : Hro . F . . 1 . JORDAN . Kurrachce : Bro . G . C . BRAYSOJ * . Madras : Mr . CALEB FOSTER . Mow : Bro . COWASJKK NUSSERWANJEE . Poona : Bro . VV . WELLIS . GALATA : IPSICK KAIIN , Perchembc ' -Bajar . LIBERIA : Bro . HENUT D . BROWN , Monrovia . PARIS : M . DKCIIEVAUX-DUMESNIL , Rue de Harlay-du-Palais , 2 u , near the Pout Neuf ; Editor Le Pranc-Macon . And all Booksellers and Newsagents in England , Irelaud , and Scotland .

Births, Marriges, And Deaths.

Births , Marriges , and Deaths .

BIRTHS . COCKEHKI . I .. —On the 20 th ult ., at 18 , Manchester-square , the wife of Bro . Frederick P . Cockerel ! , of a son . JEFFCOTT . —On the 25 th ultimo , at 8 , Upper Castle-street , the wife of Iiro . Robert Jefl'cott , M . M , Lodge 379 , Tralee , of a daughter . DEATHS . ANDERSON . —On the 22 ml ult ., at 92 , West-street , Traileston , Glasgow , Bro . William Anderson , bile chief cook s . s . Britannia , Anchor line , M . M . Lodge Clyde , 4 OS . FISHER . —On the 30 th ult ., Harriett , the wife of Bro . VV . Fisher ( Manchester Lod ^ c , 17 !)) , of the l ! estauraiit , A'ictoiia Station , Pimlico , after giving birth to twins , both of whom are living . HAUTNESS . —On the 21 th ult ., at Cockermouth , Sarah , the beloved wife of Bro . W . . 1 . Ilartucss aged , ' ! . ' ) venrs .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

All communications I ' or TIIK FRKI'MASON should be written legibly , on one side ofthe paper only , and , if intended for insertion in Ihe current number must bo received not later than 10 o ' clock a . m . on Thursdays , unless in very special cases . The name and address of every writer must be sent to us in conl ' uk-iice . M . M ., 132 . —1 . A Quaker can be admitted into Freemasonry upon taking an iitlirination instead of an oath . 2 . The mode of administering it will lie the same as that observed In n court of justice when Friends are witnesses , the terms being varied to suit ( lie i-.-ise . I ' opor ' s of me tings of Lodges Nus . Ill , 1-15 and IGl . tho Finsbury Lodce of Instniction , 861 , and other comunications WC unavoidably loft over until next week .

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- Xjre Jf re e nuts , a it , SATURDAY , DECEMBER 4 , 1869 .

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TUB -FRBBMASON is published on Saturday Mornings in time for the early trains . The price of Tun FRBr , jr » soi * is Twopence per week ; quarterly subscription ( includim ; postage ) 3 a . 3 d . Annual Subscription , 12 s . Subscriptionspayablo in advance . All communications , letters , & e ., to be addressed to the EDITOR , 3 & i , Little Britain , ' - ' . ( J . The Editor will pay careful attention to all MSS . entrusted to hiii ] , but cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied by postage stamps .

At Home And Abroad.

AT HOME AND ABROAD .

VVE have frequentl y hacl occasion to indicate to our foreign friends the position which the Graft holds iu England , and we have endeavoured , however feebly , to exemplify its teachings and to

demonstrate the harmony which exists between Masonic precepts and the broadest principles of free thought and action . But at the same time we have been careful to

lift out * voice , and to record our protest , against the doctrine that Freemasonry may be made a political engine , or a lever for the advancement of communistic views . It is this misconception of the object ancl aims of the institution which

has given rise to so much abuse ancl persecution on the part of our ill-informed antagonists—it is the erroneous idea that in every Masonic lodge religious and social questions are debated , and that Masons aro banded together in an unholy

alliance against all laws human and divine . It is this which strengthens the hands of our enemies , and gives point to a thousand satires on the Fraternity . Unhappily , the language of some of our Continental brethren is not calculated to

remove this impression , and their rash utterances in favour of democracy ancl scepticism are accepted as the real doctrines of tho Brotherhood . It has been truly said by a writer well versed in the subject , that " ono evil to which secret

societies are always exposed is , thc chance of the objects and principles of their members being misrepresented by those interested in resisting their power ancl influence ; " to which we are bound to add that a greater danger arises to a

society like that of Freemasonry when some of its neophytes presume to engraft upon its pure and simple morality , which embraces the whole duty of man , dogmas of a nature not only foreign to those primeval principles , but in tho highest

degree opposed to them in scope and operation . It cannot be said with truth that wo have advocated in these columns any but thc most comprehensive views of Freemasonry , nnd the most cosmopolitan interpretation of her mission and

importance ; we may therefore , without the fear ot being misunderstood , candidly avow that sooner than sec our Order made a cloak for conspirators we would multiply tlio tests for admission , and allow neither anarchist nor atheist to approach

our sacred retreat . In England they cannot , ns we all well know ¦ but a different spirit prevails abroad , and should it continue to spread we may assert without dread of contradiction that Freemasonry on the Continent will soon be an empty

name—or rather , it will have become thc home of all that is evil , the abode of revolutionary ancl bloodthirsty men . This is no fanciful picture wc appeal to brethren who have visited French lodges , Italian lodges , aye , and even German

lodges , whether the ancient landmarks have not been removed in those countries to such an extent as to render Freemasony " a mockery , a delusion , and a snare . " It is not only that the Bible has disappeared

At Home And Abroad.

from the pedestal , ancl that men are obligated on the sword or on a book of constitutions—grave as we admit such a fact to be—but it is also unfortunatel y the case that political discussions are not only permitted , but form the staple business

before the lodge j that sentiments the most profane and theories of the wildest and most antisocial character are not only broached but approved ; while of the latitude allowed to the VoJtairean school of scepticism , the less we say

the better . Now the question arises , to what extent are we—that is to say , English Freemasons—supposed to fraternise with such men 1 It is true that they may know our signs , our pass-words , and—so far as it suits their

purposeour ceremonies , but we contend nevertheless that they have lost the true essence of Freemasonry ; that they have wilfully severed themselves from that great family of brethren which , thanks to the vast increase of the Anglo-Saxon race , now

encircles the earth , and which holds the future in its grasp . Wo contend that they are darkening the glory of the noblest fraternity ever established amongst men ; that by their own acts they are sullying tlie purity of that banner under

which they profess to march . We would , however , fain believe that this is but an exceptional state of affairs with out * Continental brethren that it is but one of the phases of our intensely

intellectual age , when all things seem narrowed within the compass of scientific definition , and truth itself is overborne by dogmatism . It may be that out of the clouds and darkness which

now obscure her divine aspect , Freemasonry in Europe is but approaching a grander era of splendid utility , a more superb recognition from thc sons of civilization and progress . Be this as it may , it is our bounden duty to sound a

-warning note—like the sentinel on the watch-tower , let us descry the danger , and arouse the garrison . From the position of the Grand Lodge of England in the world of Freemasonry , she is eminently qualified for tho task of pointing out to

erring brethren in other lands their divergencies from the true path , and their proclivities to new and anti-masonic ideas .

In this duty—for duty it is—we look for the support of our Scottish and Irish brethren * and wo confidently reckon upon the influence of the vast "Masonic confederation in the New World .

There , as hero , no political hydra pollutes the hallowed halls of Freemasonry there , no spectre of blood haunts tho minds of tho Craft . If what we have stated bo no delusion—and we knowthat facts are stubborn things—it is surely not

much to ask that thoso who value the real principles of tlie Order will unite with us in one great effort to demonstrate to the world that Freemasonry is founded upon a sincere belief in the Supremo Architect of the Universe a

desire for knowledge and enlightenment , and a rational hope that in following thoso sublime maxims which are taught to every brother , we are not only promoting the good of our fellowcreatures , but the eternal welfare of our immortal souls .

THE Annual Banquet of the Faith Lodge of Instruction will be held on Tuesday next , 7 th Dec ., at 8 o ' clock , at Bro . Fisher ' s Restaurant , Metropolitan District Railway , Victoria Station , where tickets may be obtained , 4 s . each . AVi * have great pleasure in calling the special

attention of our readers to Bro . Henry Parker ' s Concert , full particulars of which will be found in our advertising columns . Bro . Parker is himself a musician of great ability , and has acquired an honourable name in the profession , and with the galaxy of talent he has secured for next Monday evening we are satisfied his concert will be an entire success .