Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

DEATHS . MCFAKLANE . —On the 3 rd ult ., at Colon , Central America , Bro . William McFariane , second mateShip " Trelawny , " of Greenock , 5 I . M ., Lodge Clyde , "No . 40 S , aged 41 years . ST . MAUR . —On . the 30 th ult ., at "No . 20 , Dover-street , " W ., the Right Hon . Edward Adolphus Ferdinand , Earl St . Maur , aged 34 .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

? All communications for TUB FREEMASON should be written legibly , on one side ofthe 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 name and address of every writer must be sent to us in confidence .

B . S . ( Constantinople ) . —We will attend to your suggestion , in the meantime we can refer you to our local agent , Bro . Hanley , of the Levant Times , who will doubtless meet your wishes . C . W . —Yes . Apply at the Grand Secretary ' s Office , Freemasons' Hall , where , if your name be duly registered , the district certificate can be exchanged free of expense .

Sn-EX . —Mr . Gladstone is not a Freemason , but several members of his Cabinet belong to the Craft . The late Prince Consort was a Teutonic Knight , but not a Freemason . PERFECT ASHLAR . —The alteration is not legal until approved by the Grand Master through the Grand Secretary , or in provincial and district lodges by the

P . G . M ., or D . G . M . THE SON OF SALATHIEL . —We shall be delighted to receive your MSS . when ready . KAPPA . —The society you allude to , Phi-Beta-Kappa , does not exist in England ; it was originated in the American Universities , to which sphere its operations have been confined . The " Order of Harodim " is not extinct ,

but is now regarded merely as a curious phase of Masonry iu the eighteenth century . Wo are acquainted with its secrets , but cannot indicate their nature beyond stating that the lessons of the third degree wero reduced to practice in the ceremonies of " Harodim , " with au effect that must have been at once sweetly solemu and awcinspiviug to the candidate Thero is

little doubt that much Masonic knowledge lies hidden in forgotten manuscripts of the last century , and oue of the greatest boons to the Craft would be the recovery of these important documents . We believe Dr . Rob Morris , of Kentucky , is in possession of the ritual of Preston ' s " Order of Harodim , " of which we also have a copy . We will publish a list of its officers in 1795 , if the in formation will be of service to you .

EVERAIID LYI . E . —We do not profess to answer questions respecting the religious belief of any member of theCraft , but the statement you mention is to our certain knowledge untrue , as the exalted brother referred to belongs to the Communion of the Church of England . It would mnke no difference to us or to tho Craft , in our estimation of his virtues , were he a member of tho religious body stated .

EX-OFFICIO . —Tho assertion is so palpably absurd , that no ono but a Yahoo , liko its inventor , would credit it , but if publicly made it will bo repelled in au equally public manner .

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Cjjc Jfnenutsfln , SATURDAY , OCTOBER 9 , 1 SG 9 .

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T . i » FUBBMI . SO ; ' is published on Saturday lIorninRS in timo r ' , ha early trains . The price of Tim FUBIIMISOK is Twoponco per week ; quarterly subscription ( incliidinu postage ) 3 s . 3 d , AnnualSnbscription , 12 s . Subscriptions payable in advance . AU communications , loMora . . tj ., to bo addressed to tho EDITOB , 3 St , I , I . ittlo llritain , H . O . Tho Kditor will pay careful attention to all MSS . outrun toil to him , but cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied by postage stamps .

National Masonic Jurisdiction.

NATIONAL MASONIC JURISDICTION .

AN invariable adherence to social order , and a spirit of fraternal union are at onco thc bases and thc bulwarks of thewholo Masonic structure , The first induces that respect and reverence for lawfully-constituted authority which wo find

inculcated so forcibl y in tho Ancient Charges of tho Craft ; nnd the second reminds us of our paramount duty to live in peace , harmony , and brotherl y Jove with the household of the faithful . It will thus be seen that good order and good

fellowshipare landmarks which no trueMasonever wilfully violates ; and when wc see them disregarded by men who profess to be brethren of tho mystic tic , we may well look with suspicion upon their claims to be considered a part of

National Masonic Jurisdiction.

the great Masonic family . Now , one ofthe most widely recognised principles of Masonic government is that which assigns to the Grand Lodge of every country or state the exclusive and indisputable rig ht to rule over all lodges of

Freemasons within the limits of its jurisdiction . It is a wise and salutary regulation , and one which has never militated in . the sli ghtest degree against the cosmopolitan character of symbolic

Freemasonry . On the contrary , its non-observance arouses national jealousies and creates internecine strife between the members of a society whose proudest boast should be that they are citizens of the world .

Unfortunately , attempts have been made at different periods , and in more than one nation , to overthrow this landmark of the Craft , and the frequency of such instances of late , forces upon our mind the reluctant conviction that

these nefarious efforts are part and parcel of an organised conspiracy of the enemies of social order aud true freedom against true and genuine Freemasonry . We have recently had to deplore the action of the Grand Orient of France with

respect to a gross infringement of the jurisdictional rights of the Grand Lodge of Lousiana ; we have been compelled to allude in terms of disapprobation to the establishment of a clandestine lodge in Jersey by the French Supreme

Council ; and we have felt it our duty to denounce the malpractices of a spurious body located in London itself . It is with the lastnamed community that we now propose to deal , inasmuch as one of its members impugns the

accuracy of the statements made in our article , entitled " Spurious Freemasonry , or the Rite of Memphis , " which appeared in No . 4 , on the 3 rd April , 1809 . We are indebted to this gentleman

for several documents relating to the subject , including the " General Statutes" of the "Order , ' , and a supplement issued by thc "Chaine d'Uniou '' —which appears to be the official organ of the body—on the 15 th May , 18 C 7 .

We have carefully perused the various statements before us , and are onl y confirmed in the opinions to which wc have previousl y given expression ; in point of fact , the illegality of the "Rite" is more clearly established by theadmissions

made by its defenders in reply to the strictures on their conduct ; and a brief resume of the case will render this conclusion apparent to every

brother who acknowledges the rig ht of national Masonic Jurisdiction . Let us quote from page 5 of a paper styled " An Appeal to the Grand Lodge of England , " in which the following

passages occur * . — " The Grand Lodge of Philadel p hes is a transformation of the Lodge " Les Sectateurs de Menus , " founded in London in 1850 , one year before the Coup d' Etat of December , by Masons , foreigners to

England , but belonging to various Masonic orders acknowledged in Europe . A charter was granted to them by a regular Masonic power , the Lodges of which had continuous and amicable relations with those ofthe Grand Orient aud those of the Supreme

Conseil of France , a power which was therefore acknowledged . True , after the Coup d' Etat of December , 1851 , the Lodges of the Rite of Memphis were closed in France . But it must not bc forgotten , thev were not so by an order emanating from

the Masonic power , but by an order from the administration ( government ) . This step against the order of Memphis was therefore entirely extramasonic , and we will not stop here to discuss its lawfulness .

An arbitrary act of the political power having closed the Lodges of our rite in France , measures were to bo taken to shield the archives of the order against another coup do main . Then was it , that

tho Lodge "des Sectateurs deMcnos" in London was selected to be the depository of them , and was legally constituted Grand Lodge of tho Rite of Memphis , under the distinct namo of the Grand Lodge des Philadelphes . From that period she ban

National Masonic Jurisdiction.

continued to work without interruption , and we can : prove by our minute books that she has never - deviated from a truly Masonic path . "Now , here are the facts : The Grand Lodge of England has issued an interdiction against the Grand

Lodge of Philadelphes ; she has forbidden , under the most severe punishment , all the Lodges acknowleding her supremacy to have any connexion whatever with the Philadelphes ; and her official journal has published the excommunication

pronounced by the supreme power . Not content with striking at us a direct blow within the limits of her jurisdiction , the Grand Lodge ' of England has denounced us to all the Masonic orders she is connected with in France , Germany , & c . These are the

facts we complain of . " From their own showing , it is obvious , in the first place that the members of the " Pvite of Memphis " started a lodge without any authoritative sanction whatever , aud although it is

afterwards alleged that they obtained a charter from a " regular Masonic power , " it is equally clear that they never possessed authority to work as Masons from the English Grand Lodge , which alone can exercise the ri ght to create lodges in

England . The name of the " regular Masonic power " is , however , discreetly withheld , and we can have no difficulty in fitly interpreting their reticence

on this point , for , could it be proved that any recognised Masonic power had thus invaded the jurisdiction of England , such an unwarrantable violation of international Masonic law would

not onl y justl y incur the condemnation of all regular Masons throughout the g lobe , but entail the penalty of Masonic ostracism on the offending body . There is another aspect under which we may

consider this question , and it is one of the gravest importance . It is well known that the Masonic fraternity , as a secret society , enjoys the protection of thc law throughout tho British dominions b y a special legislative enactment , and

that all other secret associations are illegal . It is also patent to every observer that the Freemasons of England havo won tho esteem and respect of their fellow-citizens by a studious abstention from interference in political or

reli gious disputes . But the very rever ? c is the case with the individuals who compose the spurious lodges of Memphis ; they not only break the laws of the country in which they reside , but trample upon tho land-marks of an Order

which they profess to cherish and admire . They deceive the unfortunate dupes , who fancy that by entering into those pscudo lodges , they acquire the rig hts of fellowship witli brethren of thc Craft universal . Wc ourselves know

several instances in which the distressed members of a lodgo of " Pliiladcl plies " have sought assistance from the funds of regular lodges , and

could hardl y believe that they had been the victims of an imposition , and that their Masonic status was utterl y ignored . There arc , doubtless , some men of character enrolled in this unlawful

association , and to them wc appeal whether it is consistent with the dictates of honour to encourage such a travest }** of the Masonic institution . In one respect , and in one only , we

appear to have done injustice to thc " Philadelphes" in our article of thc 3 rd of April , namely , in stating that thc " Pute" of which they are members comprised the absurd number of 92 degrees .

When Marconis orig inated the system of Memphis , in 1839 , as a rival to the Ancient and Accepted Pvite , ho very nearly tripled the grades

conferred by the Supremo Councils of the 33 , but it appears that the " Reformed Order of Memphis , " as worked in London , recognizes only threo degrees . This , however , is beside the