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To ADVERTISERS . THE Circulation of THE FREEMASON being now at the rate of \\ edAy ffalf-a-million ^ exsxxmxxa , 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 The Freemason is now the accepted organ of the 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 noiv 1 or . per annum , post-free , payable in advance . Vol . I ., bound in cloth ... ... 4 s . 6 d . Vol . II ., ditto 7 s . 6 d . Vol . III ., ditto 15 s . od . Reading Cases to hold 52 numbers ... 2 s . 6 d .

Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

—<>— . DEA TIL HUTTON . —On the 2 nd inst , after a long and painful illness , deeply regretted , Johannah Ilulton , wife of Mr . David Mutton , of Paget-terrace , Shooters Hill , mother of Bro . Thomas Ilutton , M . M . of Union Waterloo Lodge , No . 13 , and mother-in-law of liro . Frederic !; Gunning Pownall , M . M . of Union Waterloo Lodge , No . 13 , and De Shurland Lodge . No . 10 S 9 .

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All communications for THE FREKMASON should be » vrittcn legibly on one side of the paper only , and , if intended for insertion in the current number , must be received not later tli . 111 ro o ' clock . i . in . on Thursdays , utiles * * in very special cases . The name and address of every writer must be sent to us in confidence .

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The Freemason , SATURDAY , MARCH II , 187 I .

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THK FREEMASON is published on Saturday Mornings in time for the early trains . The price of THK FKKIZMASOM is Twopence per week ; annual subscription , sos . ( payable in advance ) . All communications , letters , & c , to be addressed to the EDITOR , a , 3 , and 4 , Little Britain , E . G . The Editor will pay careful attention to all MSS . entrusted to him but cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied by postage stamps .

The Masonic Press And Its Privileges.

THE MASONIC PRESS AND ITS PRIVILEGES .

THE remarks of the Earl of Carnarvon at the Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge , on the ist inst ., with reference to a letter recently published in these columns .

are of too important a character to be passed over by us in silence , or without explanation . In the first place , we would more particularly invite the attention of

our readers to the editorial opinions expressed in Tllli FREEMASON on the 5 U 1 November , 1870 , respecting the very points raised intheDcputy Grand Waster ' s speech ,

when it will bz found that in the article especially alluded to we deprecated in the strongest term .: the conduct of certain Parisian lodges , the members of which had

cited the King and the Crown Prince of Prussia before a Masonic tribunal for simply , as we expressed it , " doing their

duty to their Fatherland . " We , at the same time , protested vigorously "against the power and prestige of the Masonic Order being made available for the promo-

The Masonic Press And Its Privileges.

tion of objects of a political nature . " We pointed out in language which will bear repetition , because it is the record of our deliberate conviction , that , " as lodges of

I Freemasons , we meet to expatiate upon the mysteries of the Craft , and to secure the happiness of our fellows by obedience to its principles and precepts ; not to

uphold monarchies or republics—not to undermine dynasties or systems—but to pursue the plain path of moral rectitude by cultivating the blessings of social order . "

We spoke of the "fierce unreason" which had evidently dictated this foolish act of our French brethren , we enlarged upon the duties which a Mason owes to his

country as a citizen , and we denounced the introduction of all religious or party discussions within the " tyled precincts of the lodge . " This article , we may observe ,

was highly commended at the time by many eminent brethren , and it has since been approvingly reproduced by several of our American contemporaries .

On the 2 Sth January , 187 r , we placed on record the document issued by the Parisian Masons , with the remark : " We have already expressed our opinion on the

subject . " It had previously been published far and wide by the secular press and by nearly every Masonic paper in existence , and it appeared in TlIE FREEMASON

simply as an item of Masonic intelligence which might fairly be placed before our readers . But , unfortunately , the publication of this portentous manifesto elicited a

letter and a protest from a Brother Dclfraisse , who enunciated opinions die metrically opposed to our own expressed sentiments on the subject . The Parisian

document was the text , Brother Dclfraisse ' s protest the sermon ; and when we place them in juxtaposition , assuredly the sermon is worthy of the text . The grotesque

form of wrath and the exaggerated picture of rage which Brother Delfraisse presented are so foreign to our English ideas that we

should have scaiccly thought it possible for any person , however prejudiced or dull of intellect , to attempt to identify our correspondent ' s opinions with our own .

It would seem , however , that the war note of defiance sounded by Brother Delfraisse reverberated as far as Lcipsic , where it reached the ears of a certain ill-tempered

German brother , who forthwith sat down and penned an equally furious epistle to the officials of the Grand Lodge of England , denouncing THE FREEMASON , and

calling upon the Grand Lodge to disavow it , because Brother Dclfraisse ' s letter had been inserted therein ! Now , we have every right to assume that this

Saxon brother is an obscure individual , or , at least , that he is not the Representative of any German Grand Lodge , nor the

accredited agent of any considerable section of German Masons . We have too high an opinion of the reasoning faculties of the Teutonic race to believe for a moment that this nameless correspondent had authority to speak in their behalf ;

The Masonic Press And Its Privileges.

and we may therefore fairly enquire why such undue importance should have been attached to his petulant denunciations ? If we had endorsed or supported the

sentiments of Brother Delfraisse or other French brethren on the subject of the war , we could understand the feeling which prompted Lord Carnarvon ' s observations ;

but the contrary is the fact , as we have already sufficiently proved . We may , therefore , ask why THE FREEMASON , which has been so widely accepted as the

organ of the English Craft , should have been thus singularly misinterpreted in Grand Lodge ? And we do so with greater confidence when we reflect that , as

the Deputy Grand Master rightly states , all the privileges which the Masonic press of England enjoy are summed up in onethey can send a reporter to each Quarterly

Communication . It may not be known to Lord Carnarvon , or to other distinguished brethren , that THE FREEMASON is the only paper in England which regularly avails

itself of this privilege ; and we may remind his lordship that the reports are given for the information of a large body of brethren , by whom they are highly appreciated . At

the same time , we may be allowed to remark that the day has for ever gone by for restrictive legislation with regard to the press ; it is a policy which has long been

abandoned in all enlightened States , and one which is hardly likely to be revived with success in any free country . Personal considerations can have very little weight

with a conscientious journalist . We are old enough to remember the time when the discouragement of all attempts to furnish information to the Craft was

considered eminently Masonic , and possibly Lord Carnarvon has not forgotten the period to which we allude . We , however , have a duty to perform , and in the

discharge of that duty we shall ever remember that above all and beyond every consideration we have the interests of Freemasonry at heart ; and we should deeply regret the

commission of any act or the publication of any opinion which might have a tendency to circumscribe its progress and prosperity . As to the privilege of reporting the

proceedings of Grand Lodge , we may observe that several secular newspapers in England enjoy , unchallenged , the same right , and

occasionally place before the public garbled reports of the proceedings , while THE FREEMASON alone has exercised it /// cx / ciiso .

We have never boasted official inspiration , or vaunted the patronage of Grand Lodge ; but we maintain that throughout our brief but eventful career , we have secured the

suffrages of a vast number of Englishmen who arc ready to unite as one wan in promulgating and extending the principles of the Craft . To their verdict we can always

appeal , and on this occasion we do so with the utmost confidence , feeling convinced that the liberty of the Masonic press is safe arid sacred in their hands .

WE arc requested to state that Lord Lindsay holds no office in , and has now no connection with , the " Grand Lodge of Royal Ark Mariners . "