Original Correspondence.

sider what their real position is . It must be cvielent to every one who has followed the proofs above given , that the socalled Supreme Council of Canada , created in 1874 , was , and is , an illegal body , being formed contrary to both the letter and the spirit of the Constitutions of 1786 . It is true that this S . C . was inaugurated by Bro . Pike himself ,

uneler warrant from the S . C . of England , but neither Bro . Pike nor the S . C . of England , nor any other man or body of men , bad the power or authority to repeal or set aside even one section or article of those Constitutions , which are the fundamental law of the Rite . No doubt the mistake was unwittingly made , but still the mistakes and oversights that the ablest of men at times fall into cannot

exonerate others if they persist in violating an acknowledged law , after the existence of that law has been plainly pointed out to them . It is now , therefore , incumbent upon the members of the Rite in Canada to yield their allegiance to the body that is alone entitled to receive it , and that body is , without a shadow of doubt , the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States , which has the

sole right to exercise authority over the whole of North America , excepting only that portion which was yielded to the S . C . of the Northern Juiiseliction at its formation in 1815 . Up to 1874 all members of the Rite made in Canada , under the authority of the Supreme Council of England , and by the tacit consent of the S . C . of 'the Southern Jurisdiction , U . S .. are regular and legitimate .

Since the withdrawal of the English authority in 1874 , and the illegal creation of the so-called Supreme Council of Canada , all persons receiving Degrees under the auspices of the last mentioned body are irregular and illegitimate , and must of necessity be healed by the lawful authority alone entitled to receive them befoie they can be considered as members of the A . and A . S . Rite at

all . The only course that can now be lawfully followed is this : let the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction , U . S ., declare the so-called Supreme Council of Canada dissolved , as being from its inception an illegal body ; form its members into a Grand Consistory for the Dominion of Canada , and give it authority to heal those brethren who have been inadvertently misled into

considering themselves members of the Rite . This will no eloubt be a bitter pill for Canadians to swallow , but what else can be done ? The fundamental Constitutions to which the Rite owes its existence , and under which alone it exercises its lawful authority , must be obeyed to the very letter , because , to again quote Bro . Pike , " no man has ever lawfully received the Decrees of the Rite

without swearing to maintain them as its Supreme Law . " This solemn obligation , now that it is brought plainly to our remembrance , must be respected , even at the sacrifice of national feeling or of personal ennsequence . We must now retrace our steps , and yield our allegiance to that Supreme Council—that of the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States—which is alone entitled to receive it ,

and which cannot lawfully nfujc to receive it . S . P . eiv THE R . S . Ontario , Canada , nth March , 1879 . P . S . —By a singular coincielence , the reverse of the paper whence I send the enclosed cutting has the following " Inscriptions from Egyptian Tombs , " which I beg to transfer to your columns . Surely , the cheeks of the

Christian Knights and Princes of the Holy Empire will tingle when they read the sentiments , by which these unsaved pagans directed all their lives . If they do not so tingle mine would blush for the degradation of humanity : " — " He loved his father and mother , and honoured his brother . He never entered his house with an angry

heart . He never favoured the nobleman above the simple . " " On earth I was a prudent and wise man , and my soul ever loved God . If I was a brother to the noble , 1 was a father to the poor , and never scattered hatred among men . "

" I will tell you , O ye that live aftci me , how it was with me during my life . I was not haughty , neither did I curse , neither did I revile , neither did I love to quanel with my neighbour . I never withstood the poor and oppressed , but always sought by word and deed for reconciliation . "

'' I honoured my father and respected my mother , and loved m ) brother . I providcel burial for those that elied and were not laiel in the earth , and supported the chilelrcn who were born . I founded houses for them , anil filled them with good deeds , as a father dealt th by his own children . For behold ! it was an evil time in Sais , when Ihe great disaster passed over Egypt . "

Reviews.

Reviews .

THE MASONIC CHARITIES . A REPORT TO THE LODGE HOPE AND CHARITY , No . 377 . By Bro . GEORGE TAYLOR , P . M ., P . G . Purst . Worcestershire . Kidderminster : W . Hepvvorth , Sun Office , Bull Ring . We have read this "brochure" with singular pleasure . It is alike simple and yet lucid in statement , ably drawn out , and effectively written . Bro . Taylor has done good

service to our Metropolitan Charities , by a seasonable and eloquent recital of their work and their merits , their needs and their claims . We recommend any of our brethren who wish to be " posted up " in a few comprehensive words as to what our Masonic Charities really do , to obtain Bro . Taylor ' s pamphlet , as many who do not like

to wade through long reports will find 111 his clear pages and concise statements , complete justification of Masonic usefulness and Masonic Charity . We hope to see a fuller review of this little publication in the Masonic Magazine for May . We thank Bro . Taylor for it , and sincerely hope that it may be widely circulated and largely read .

Reviews.

AN ADDRESS BY THE REV . J . H . SIMONSEN AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SCANDINAVIAN WISCONSIN SYNOD . George Kenning , 19 S , Fleet-street . It appears that the Rev . J . H . Simonsen , a Norwegian Lutheran clergyman , has been practically excommunicated by the Synod of his co-religionists , both in America and

Norway , and deprived of the means of living for himself and family , simply for his defenceof Freemasonry . The " appeal " we have just noticed is put forth by him to attract the notice and sympathy of brethren in England , and is alike forcibly written , and appears to make out a good case . Such , at any rate , is the opinion e > f competent judges like our worthy P . G . C , Bro . Bent , whose acquaintance with

Swedish affairs is well known . We confess that wc are deeply struck by the intolerance manifested , and the injustice perpetrated . Some Scandinavian Lutheran " pastors" in America seem to be excessively active in condemning Freemasonry , so let us preserve the names of the worthies , the Revs . Preus and Hvistendahl . Their main objection seems to be the fact of secrecy , though , as ardent

controversialists , they forget that to secrecy , per se , there is , and can be , no objection , and that the only possible condemnation of it can be found in opposition to the laws of the land . We have recently observed in some of the American Masonic papers allusion to these high-handed , loud-voiced Scandanavian acts of intolerance and injustice , which remind us of the worst excesses of an ignorant and

blatant Ultramontanism . But then , as we know , the spirit of persecution is the same in all ages , if under altered forms , and we only ascribe it to that petulance , ignorance , and unfairness of human nature , which like to impose what is subjective for what is objective , with all the bitterness of sectarian rancour , on the minds and consciences of fellow mortals . We trust that Bro . Sitnonsen's pamphlet may

lead to a more critical examination of the whole affair , and may induce many worthy brethren , haters of injustice anil intolerance , to study the ease for themselves . We also trust that Bro . Simonscn ' s energetic and eloquent appeal may be largely reael with profit to this modern victim of

an unreasoning opposition to , and dislike of , Freemasonry . Some of us may ask , is such a state of things possible in 1879 ? But so it is , my masters , and as the world wags apace we fear there is but litlle change and less amelioration in the baleful and hopeless tendencies of our poor , our weak , our selfish humanity !

Public Amusements.

Public Amusements .

THEATRE ROYAL , BIRKENHEAD . —A grand dramatic performance was given at the above theatre or Wednesday evening , the 2 ( iih nil ., in aid of the funds or the Royal . Masonic Institution for Girls , London , and the Cheshire Royal Masonic Institution . The entertainment enjoyed the distinguished patronage of His WeiVnip the Mayor of Birkenhead ( John Laird , Esq . ) ; David Maclvcr ,

Esq ., M . P . ; Bio . the Hon . Wilbraham Egerton , M . P ., R . W . Deputy Prov . G . M . Cheshiie ; Bro . the Viscount Combermere , H . W . P . D . G . M . Cheshire ; lirn . .-Tinens | . Mclntyre , Q . C ., V . W . G . R . of England , R . W . G . S . W . Cheshire ; Bro . Lord Richarel Grosvenor , P . G . S . W . England , P . G . J . W . Cheshire ; Bro . the lion . Col . F . Stanley , M . P ., R . W . Deputy Prov . G . M . West Lancashire ; Bro .

G . W . Latham , R . W . P . G . D . England ; Bro . Major Horner , P . P . G . S . W . West ' Lancashire ; William Laird , Esq ., J . l ' ., Birkenhead ; C . J . Preston , Esq ., Birkenhea . l ; Clarke Aspinall , Esq ., J . P ., Bcbington ; Lieut .-Col . King , Oxton ; Thos . Brarsey , Esq ., Major Walker , and officers of the ist Cheshire Engineers ; Worshipful Masters of loelges in the distiict , anel others . The performances began with A Kiss

m Ihe Dark , in which Bro . C . Courtenay , 1609 , as " Frank Fathom , " Mr . Stoddart as " Mr . IVttibone , " iMiss F . Courtenay , Miss Slinton , and Miss Smith took part . After an interlude , in which the band of the ist Cheshire Engineer Volunteers played a selection of popular music , Tom Taylor ' s comedy of Slill Haters Run Deep , was played by the Amphitheatre company . Bro . Lindo Courtenay , W . M . 1 G 39 , took ihe leading role as " Captain Ilawksley , " and

Bro . W . Coustantine , I . P . M . 1609 , was a capital " John Mildrnay . " Miss L . Courtenay as "Mrs . Sternhold , " and Miss Florence Courtenay as " Mrs . Mildrnay , " sustained these characters with effect ; while the subordinate characters were represented b y Mr . F . Clarke " Potter . " Mr . Forrest , "Jessop , " Bro . C . Courtenay , "Dunbilk , " Mr . Wilson , Mr . Harris , and Bro . H . Leslie , the latter as " Gimlet . " The act irs were several times applauded , and the performance as a whole was much admired .

Ar00805

THE LONDON COTTAGE MISSION . —The crowd of hungry children , numbering several hundred , that presented themselves on Wednesday at the doors ol Conder-street Hall , Limehouse , E , to partake of the 14 th Irish stew dinner , given by the London Cottage Mission , of 14 , Finsbury-circus , E . C , was no mean sight , anel one tnat shews only too plainly the sad distress that still exists ,

even though mild weather has come upon us , The little ones brought , as usual , their plates and spoons , and quietly waited until their turn came to participate in so good a meal . They were ravenously hungry , and devoured the Irish stew with the greatest rapidity anil relish , which was repeatedly served to them . Such a real work of charity that feeels the hungry , and has for its one aim the social , intellectual , and religious elevation of the

working classes , shoulel have the warmest support of the benevolent and philanthropic ; and , as the funds are now exhausted , we hope that as our reaelers have so far enabled this mission to do so much good that they will not allow it to collapse for the want of means , and the smallest donations will be cordially received and acknowledged by Mr . AV . Austin , at the office of the Mission , 14 , Finsburycircus , E . C .

The Altar In Masonry.

THE ALTAR IN MASONRY .

The presence of the altar in the lodge-room testifies emphatically that Freemasonry recognises and enforces the truth that there exists one only true and living God , who is the hearer and answerer of prayer . So long as that altar remains , sei long must the fraternity continue to be theists ; but when it is removed , or the . First Great Lij ; ht is

removed from on it , and it comes to be termed merely a pedestal , then those that gather around it are no longer Freemasons , but only an organised society of atheists . What is the history of the decline and fall of the Craft in France , as it exists under tbe present Grand Orient ? It is simply the history of the removal of the Bible from the altar , and the degradation of that altar into a pedestal .

Bro . Mackenzie in his Royal Masonic Cyclopaedia , most erroneously says : " In an ordinary English Craft lodge , the altar is also called the pedestal . " There could not be a more radical error—one more calculated to undermine the pure principles of Masonry . Bro . Woodford , in Kcnning's Cyclopaedia , states the truth in this connection when he says : " It is a mistake to call the altar the ' pedestal ,

which is purely the Master ' s desk , ant ! such a confounding of two distinct things is a remnant of the slovenly working of the early part of this century . " But it is more than slovenly , it is a departure from principle , and surely entails , as wc have shown , the most fatal results . There were two altars in King Solomon's Temple , the altar of sacrifice and the altar of incense ; and in like

manner there are two altars in Masonry . In the Blue Lodge there is only the altar of sacrifice , but in the Royal Arch Chapter there is besides it the altar of incense . Wc shall not do more now than refer to the latter . The altar , par excellence , in Masonry , is the altar of the Blue Lodge , that of sacrifice—the sacrifice of prayer , and the pledging of solemn vows .

In American lodges the altar is placed in the centre of the lodge room , but in English loelges it is located not only in front , but also near to the Master's station . The former position appears to us to be the true one . King David said : "I will wash my hanels in innocency ; so will I compass thine altar , O Lord "—compass , that is , pass around anel go to . How true is it that the candidate

for Masonry compasses the altar , and having reached it , does he not offer a sacrifice thereon—the sacrifice of prayer , and the offering up of his vows ? Some , perhaps , pray there who never prayed before . It is a solemn moment , and its lessons are for a life-time . Man is naturally a worshipping animal—indeed , it is this ijuality which chiefly distinguishes him from the brute

creation . All heathendom had , and still has , its altars . Tbe famous e : ity of Athens was wholly given to idolatry when St . Paul vi-iteel it , so that it is saiel to have been easier to find a God there than a rnin ! There were altars to all the known Goels , and one to the unknown God ! Prof . Chase has termed the world-rcnowcd Acropolis at Athens " one grand , vast altar . " It was , and is , a

natural altar . It is an immense table of rock , one hundred anel fifty feet high , eleven hundred feet long , and five hundred feet broad . This altar is now covered with the remains of stupendous and magnificent temples , tlie grandest being the Parthenon . These ruins are the most remarkable in the world , exemplifying , as they do , such unique classic beauty , monunienting so vast a body of history , and

suggesting so great a pageant ol immortal memories . In the language of a modem historian : " As Pausanias saw it , the Acropolis vv ; is covereel with statues , as well as with shrines . It was not merely a Holy of Holies in religion , is was also a palace and a museum of art . Even all the tides and slopes of the great rock were honeycombed into sacred grottoes , or studded with votive monuments . "

There is one other well-known natural altar—the noted Reick of Cashel , in Ireland . Upon it is its great cathedral , the Parthenon of the place , anel near by it is the holiest of all , the beautiful Cormac ' s Chapel . Around tbe base of the rock flourisheel a number of abbeys—all looking out upon the golden Vale of Tipperary . We do not wonder that men reverenced the Acropolis of Athens , and the Irish

Rock of Cashel , since both seem elesigned by nature for the worship of nature ' s God . Freemasonry now , whatever may have been its early oiigin and intermediate history , honours and worships the one only true anel living Goel , who is the Grand Architect of the Universe . Wc believe in the principle of progress , and we think wc clearly see how mankind and

Masonkind have been steadily advancing more and more into the light , and towards the highest truth . Among the Jews , the Abrahamic or patriarchal dispensation led up to the Mosaic or priestly , that to the Solomonic or kingly , and that in turn to the crowning ultimate or Christian dispensation , under which we are now living . So , if Masonry began , as some allege , in its simpler form in the earliest

times , it is developed anel been gradually envoived into its present highest form of pure Freemasonry . It owes this purity and prosperity primarily to one great cause—its acknowledgment of the one only true and living God , the prominent symbol of which is the altar in the lodge room . Let us cherish the Masonic altar , together with the First Great Light which rests upon it , for in them is , as it

were , the very life-blood of the Craft . Were there no Goel in Masonry , Masonry would be dead . Degrade the altar into a pedestal ; remove the Holy Bible and replace it with the Book cf Constitutions ; take away the Square and Compasses , and substitute the crossed swords , and you sign , seal , and deliver the death-warrant of Freemasonry . — The Keystone , Philadelphia .

The Marquis of Hattington , Lord Rector of Eelinburgh University , has offered a prize of twenty-five guineas annually , eluring his term of office , for the best his'orical essay , to be competed for by students of the University . The subject of the first essay is "The Share of Scotland in the creation of British India . "