The Progress Of English Free Masonry.

taken a course in Freemasonry , as in everything else human , as to regard with favour , on the one hand , a stationary prosperity , or to view with suspicion , on the other , active progressive

zeal . Freemasonry , like all other human institutions , amid its many excellences , shares the common tendency to the "Valley of dry bones . " We all want ever to be convinced that

new blood and younger energies are requisite for the ) safe progress of society , and even the true development of Freemasonry ; If our Freemasonry is of the heart as well as of the head , if we have

mastered its great truths , if we wish to practice what we profess often so loudly to believe in , let us remember that our brother ' s interests are or ought to be as

dear to us as our own , and let us jealously guard against any temptation to allow personal feelings or unworthy fears to impede the zealous efforts of some good men and Masons , or to stand in the

way of the safe and advisable increase of local lodges . We have served our apprenticeship in our famous old Order in happy days gone by , surrounded by many dear friends and comrades .

Let us commit without a doubt and without hesitation the handing on of our traditions and teachings of our principles and our labours of love to younger , and even , perchance , less

experienced hands , believing and assured that every new lodge , composed of worthy and zealous brethren , is a fresh guarantee for the happiness

of society , for the intellectual elevation of our fellows , for the good of the brotherhood , and for the safe and peaceful progress of mankind .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

[ We do nrt hold ourselves responsible for , or even as approving of the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wish , in a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . —ED . )

ORDER OF THE TEMPLE . To the Editor of The Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — Would you permit mc to make a few remarks on the subject of the Templar Statutes ,

etc ., as referred to by Bros . Davies and Woodworth in your paper of the ioth inst . I shall be as brief as possible . Bro . Davies complains that at the end of his office he " will retire with the honours of a full

private , as this office does not carry past rank . " It is a pity tint as Preceptor he has not been successful in acquiring an accurate knowledge of the statutes and laws of the Order . He will not retire as a mere private , but will , as long as he is a subscribing member of the Order ,

continue to be a member of the Convent General and of the Great Priory of England and Wales . In fact , in addition to the ri ghts and privileges hitherto held by Past Commanders , now called Past Preceptors , he will have the ri ght of voice and vote in the supreme body of the Order ,

rights similar to those possessed by the highest in rank . The past rank which has been abolished refers only to the Grand Officers . For the correctness of these statements I refer him to the statutes , Sec , or to the Chancellor of the Order , should he prefer such official ruling . There has been no severance of the Masonic

connection , but the reverse . The Great Priory statute referring to the connection between the Order of the Temple and the Craft is word for word the same as that in the old law in the Grand Conclave statutes , while the recent rule , extends the Masonic qualification . But Bro

Davies and others err in classing the Order of the Temple amongst Masonic degrees—a classification for which they have no official or other warrant . The Order has been from an early period connected with Freemasonry , but it is not a degree ol the Masonic Rite . Its Christian and Trinitarian character is a sufficient proof of

Original Correspondence.

this , and all Craft Masons should protest against a Masonic prefix to the Order of the Temple . Such a prefix is of recent origin in England , and has not been used in the statutes of either the Irish or Scotch Conclaves . Let us the Masonic

society within its ancient landmarks , and not tolerate Masonic prefixes to Polanical bodies . As to the change of name from Encampment to Preceptory , it is a small matter , and if an error , it can hardly require such an agitation to correct . To me it appears that the term

encampment is wholly inapplicable to such bodies as he termed encampments . The Knights of old were not so termed unless when in the field ; their meetings were called chapters , and their separate abodes preceptories . As to Bro . Woodworth ' s complaint about the

dress . He seems to forget that the Templars in England , Wales , and Ireland now form one body , subject to the same Grand Master and to the same general rules and regulations , and that the dress he complains of is , with the General Statutes of the Order , formally assented to and

ratified by both countries . In making such General Statutes , both parties had to give and take , and , as far as I can see , Ireland had more of the taking than the giving . Almost the only thing she had to concede was the giving up of her absurd Templar Apron—a recent invention

of their own . But leaving out the absurdity of the Irish Templar costume , was it expected that the English & c . Knights , who form at least fourfifths of the Order under the Grand Master , were to give up their old Templar costume , which corresponds with that worn by the Scotch

and continental Knights , and conform to th 3 t of the Irish Knights , invented for the purpose of confounding the Templar Order with the Craft ? Aprons properly belong to the Craft alone , and in the higher degrees of the A . and A . rite no aprons are used . If the brethren wish to alter

the dress , let their representatives , the Preceptors and Past Preceptors , attend the Convent General , wherein they have the same right of voice and vote as the highest officers of the Order , for there , and there alone , can any alterations be made in the costume of the Orde .

In conclusion , allow me to say that it is a pity that brethren appointed to ruk over Preceptories should rush into print with their grievances , or fancied grievances , and , unintentionally of course , bring into disrepute their own position , and the laws which they are bound to respect and

maintain . I am , Dear Sir and Brother , Yours fraternally ,

X . Y . Z . Past Preceptor . THE PLYMOUTH QUESTION .

To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , Before your promised "finale " on the above is issued , kindly permit me the following few remarks : —

ist . This meeting took place on the 14 th August . 2 nd . I received the enclosed programme five or six days before . 3 rd . The General ' s sanction was not asked till the nth ( after the programme was printed and

distributed , mark !) when the Masonic non-commissioned officers of the Royal Marines applied to him through their commanding officer , and were refused , as I am creditably informed , on the ground that the programme entirel y ignored their uniforms .

4 th . As soon as this state of affairs was communicated to me , I wrote the following letter , which appeared next day in the Western Daily Mercury , a widely circulated local journal , 'in order that the Provincial programme manufacturers might , even at the eleventh hour , do something towards remedying their blunder : —

THE NEW GUILDHALL . " Sir , —As one of a numerous class of military Freemasons residing in Plymouth , kindly insert my protest against the action of the United Grand Lodges of Devon and Cornwall in excluding us from taking part in the reception of our Most Worshi pful Past Grand Master , His Royal Hi ghness the Prince of Wales , on Friday

next . "The official programme issued a fesv days ago ,

Original Correspondence.

prescribes black coats , black silk hats , he , & c , for all brethren assembling on that occasion . But plain clothes not being | allowed to be worn b y any soldier in that garrison ( it is considered a crime of great magnitude to do so ) , I Sir , and , I may add , more than one hundred of rov

comrades , are thus debarred from what we consider our just rights , and feel ourselves thrown aside and slighted in the extreme . —I remain , youts truly , "SOLDIER FREEMASON . " Plymouth , 12 th August , 1874 . "

No further notice , however , was taken , and as you already know , we were not permitted to enjoy what I always thought was oar ri ght , thereby exposing us to the ridicule of the outside would ( our wives most especiall y included ) which I think is not at all desirable .

In conclusion , I would like the committee , either collectively or individually , to answer in a straightforward manner the following pertinent question : — Was the Major-General ' s sanction for Masonic soldiers in uniform to attend the demonstration

asked before the programme was compiled and circulated ( upon this the whole question hinges ) , and if he refused , why did they aid to exclude us by their insertion of black hats , & c , they well knowing that soldiers in the Plymouth Garrison were and are liable to heavy punishment if found in the streets in " mufti ?"

I beg to remain , dear Sir and Brother , yours fraternally , SOLDIER FREEMASON .

WAS THE POPE A FREEMASON ? To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , I see one of your correspondents ( who signs himself C . A . ) asks in last week ' s paper whether the present Pope was a Freemason and priest at one and the same time , to which you

reply , in somewhat vague terms , that it is averred by some of the Italian Freemasons that he was initiated into a lodge when a young man , but we are not aware of any actual or trustworthy evidence on the subject ; now I have a distinct remembrance of seeing in the columns of the

now defunct " Magazine and Masonic Mirror " some few years ago , a detailed statement concerning this matter , in which , if I remember rightly , it was proved beyond a doubt that the Pope belonged to one of the lodges in Palermo , and was admitted when he was serving the

office of Legate or Nuncio in that city , and therefore in holy orders , but of this latter part I am not sure . Extracts were also given from the lodge minute book , giving the speech made by Bro . Mastai Feretti when raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason .

I am , yours fraternally , W . E . GUMULETON , P . G . D . [ The vagueness of our answer is occasioned by the vagueness of the assertions of our Italian brother , for it has been confidently asserted that the Pope was made at Havannah , that he

was initiated in America , that he was received in one of the South American republics under the " Rite Ecossaise . " and lastly , that he was accepted as a member of our Order in Italy . All we seek for is proof ; but up to this time no satisfactory or reliable evidence has been offered by any one . —En . ]

THE JOHN THOMAS MEMORIAL . Ta the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — While at Norwood Cemetery on Thursday last , paying the last sad tribute of respect to our late Bro . Wisby , the W . M . of my lodge and myself thought we should like to see what

memorial had been erected to the memory of our late Brother John Thomas . After much personal fatigue , and then only by the assistance of the clerk in charge , whose kindness we here gratefully acknowledge , we at length discovered

the spot , but , Sir , imagine our surprise , ( which will , we think , be shared in by all those who knew and esteemed our late brother , at finding that not only had no memorial been erected , but that his natno had not even been cut upon the stone placed at the head of the grave , which