To Our Readers.

TO OUR READERS .

The Freemason is a srxteen-page weekly newspaper , price 2 d . It is published every Friday morning , and contains lhc most important , interesting , and useful information relating to Freemasonry in every degree . Annual subscription in thc Untied Kingdom , Post free , 10 / -

NEW POSTAL RATES . Owing to a reduction in the Postal Rates , the publisher is now enabled to send the " Freemason " to the following parts abroad for One Year for Twelve Shillings ( payable in advance ) : —Africa , Australia , Bombay , Canada , Cape of

Good Hope , Ceylon , China , Constantinople , Demerara , France , Germany , Gibraltar , Jamaica , Malta , Newfoundland , New South Wales , New Zealand , Suez , Trinidad , L nited States of America , etc . P . O . O . ' s to be made payable at the chief office . London .

COLONIAL AND FOREIGN SUBSCRIBERS are informed that acknowledgments of remittances icceived are published in the first number of every month . NOTICE . —It is very necessary for our friends to advise us of all money orders they remit , more especially those from the United States of America arrd India ; otherwise we cannot tell where to credit them .

To Advertisers.

TO ADVERTISERS .

The Freemason has a large circulation in all parts of the Globe , its advantages as an advertising medium can therefore scarcely be qverrated . For terms , position , & c , apply to GEORGE KEKKIN < 3 , 198 , Fleet-st .

NOW READY . Reading Covers , to take 52 numbers of the " Free mason , " price 2 J 6 , may be had at the office , 19 8 , Fleet street .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

All Communications , Advertisements , & c , intended foi insertion in the Number of the following Saturday , must reach the Office not later thar 12 o ' clock on Wednesday morning ' . The following stand over : — A P . M . Alfretl Lodge , "Master Masons' Jewels , " G . R . Harriott , "Masonic

Tokens "; Obituary , Bro . B . Thorpe . Reprrts of Lodges : Royal Cumterland , 41 ; Doric , <)(>; Friendship , 100 ; Affability , 317 ; Star , 1175 ; Royal Standard , 121 ) 8 ; Acacia , 1309 ; Kennington , 1381 ; Langihorne , 1421 ; Truth , 1451 ; Chaucer , 1540 ; Caveac Chapter , 176 ; Mark Lodge , 139 , ; Panmure ; Rose Croix Chapter , Phillips ; Masonic Balls in Burnley ancl Liverpool .

BOOKS RECEIVED . " Die Bauhiitte , " " Der Frcimaurer , " " Bulletin der G . Orient de France , " " Calendar for the Province of Dorset . "

Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

[ Ihe charge is 2 s . Od . for announcements , not exceedi ng fcur lines , under this heading . ] BIRTH . KENT . —On the 2 nd inst ., the wife of Frederick Hunt , Esq ., Binfield Lodge , Clapham , S . W ., and Cannon-street , E . G ., of a daughter .

MARRIAGE . PAINTER—AGGI . ETON . —At Christ Church , Brixton-road , Mr . Alfred B . Painter , to Ann , daughter of Mr . Thomas J . Aggleton , March 2 .

DEATI IS . MAI'I . :. —On the 7 th inst ., at 8 . Clarence-terrace , Regents-park , thc wife of John Blundell Maple , of a daughter . Duiiosc . —On ihe ; th inst ., at Myddleton-squarc , H , Dubosc , on his 61 st birthday . R . I . P . MAJOR . —The Rev . John R . Major , D . D ., Vicar of

Arrmgton , Cambs ., and some time Head Master of Kings College School , London , at Twickenham , ajed 79 , Feb . 28 . BAD ROW . —Mr . William Barrow , at Hastings , aged 76 , March 1 . ROUINSON . —Julia , daughter of Mr . John Robinson , Easingwold , Yorkshire , aged 21 , Feb . 29 .

GAUU . —Air . Jc hn B . Gabb , of Highbury-place , aged 64 , Feb . 28 . TIIOIU'E . —Oi ) Friday , 18 th ult ., Bro . Benjamin Thorpe , after a few days illness . TOMKINS . —After a lengthened illness , Bro . John Newton Tomkir . s , P . G . D . HAWKF . II . —On the 18 th ulf ., Bro . J . Hawker , P . M . 871 , aged si .

Ar00610

The Freemason , SATURDAY , MAR . II , 1876 .

Her Majesty's Visit To Whitechapel.

HER MAJESTY'S VISIT TO WHITECHAPEL .

We have gladly to chronicle another visit of the Queen to the City , and to the London Hospital . Such visits of jjersonal interest and sympathy will always be greatly appreciated by the loyal subjects of this great country , and are

episodes onwhich the philanthropist and Freemason will ever look with approval and gratification . The Queen ' s reception by all classes was most enthusiastic , and the arrangements for the c « c . ision seem to have been very well conceived

Her Majesty's Visit To Whitechapel.

and admirably carried out . The greatest good humour prevailed , no accidents are reported , and the loyalty of the citizens and of all classes were very warmly exhibited . We give from thc " Times " a touching little incident which occurred at the hospital , as it will deeply affect and

please all our readers . " Her Majesty now went through an accident ward ( the Gloucester Ward ) , as had been arranged , and showed her lively interest in the unfoitunate men who were lying ihere by many inquiries addresserl to the President and to Mr . Kowseil , the Deputy Chairman ,

concerning the patients . Afterwards , she paid an unarranged visit to the Buxton Ward for little children , in the Alexandra Wing . A little girl of four , Kate Ambler , who was brought into the hospital on January 14 th , with a burnt side and

thigh , had previously said to Mr . Kowseil , ' If I conld only see the Queen I should get well . ' This reniaik was repeated to Her Majesty , who determined to gratify the child ' s innocent wish . 'My darling , ' said the Queen to this little girl , ' I hope you will be a little better now . '"

The Journey Of Our Royal Grand Master.

THE JOURNEY OF OUR ROYAL GRAND MASTER .

H . R . H . the Prince of Wales was at Allahabac on March 7 th , having come from Bareilly . I Itwas received by the Viceroy , the Commander in-Chief , ihe Lieut . Governor of the N . W . Provinces , the Judges , and other hiah official- - . He

received an address from the municipality . He held a chajiter of the Star of India , and invested Major General Probyn and others . He was to proceed to Indore on the ni ght of the 7 th . He is perfectly well .

Is Pio Nono A Freemason?

IS PIO NONO A FREEMASON ?

We had thought that the question was settled in the negative , and that it was now pretty clear , whatever his connection with the secret societies in his Liberal days might have been , that he was not a Freemason . For thus far all the evidence adduced appears to us to be unreliable altogether ,

all the facts ; indubitable fiction . The only importance attached to the fact itself is as a fact of history , beyond that it has no special importance , nor perhaps interest even , whether for Freemasons or profanes . But the " II Precursore di Palermo " of January 31 st , 1876 , not only boldly states

" au ccntraire , " that everybody knows that the Pope is a Freemason , but publishes a certificate as a "traduzione originate " an " original translation * ' of a document which is " approved by the representative of Germany , " and which seems at first sight to settle the question . For it

certainly does appear to " constater " the fact , that on the 15 th of August , 1831 , at Palermo , in the Lodge ' Eterna Catena , " " Eternal Chain , " Giovanni Mastai Ferretti , native of the Pontifical States , was initiated a Freemason . Indeed , the certificate professes to be a lodge certificate , and

is signed by Giovanni Ferretti Mastai himself , ( sic ) , by Matteo Chiava , the W . Master , by Paoli Duplessi , the Secretary , is countersigned by " Sisto Calano . " Grand Master of the " R . Loggia di Napoli , " and this remarkable document is " vised , " so to say , by Guglielmo de

Willelsborh , Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Bavaria . This document posseses to be found in the archives of the Lodge "Fidelia Germanica , " Oriente di Noremburg , ( Nuremburgh ) , a daughter lodge of the Grand Mother Lodge , the Three Globes of Berlin . This

certificate , the " Precursore says , ism the archives numbered 13 , 715 , is certified and authenticated in the usual manner , written in Italian , and sealed with the seal of the Grand Lodge " Luci Perpetua " of Naples , and owned by the Masonic Lodge " Eterna Catena '' in Palermo .

But the " Freimaurer " of Vienna for February , 1876 , a new illustrated Masonic paper , to which wc elsewhere allude , gives us an entirely different version of the whole affair . According to that paper the "Neue Freie Presse " of a few days previously had published a document , by which

it seemed that in 1833 the Pope had been made a Freemason in the Lodge " Eterna Catena" at Palermo . This document seems to have originated with the " Gazetta di Napoli , " January 16 th , 1876 , which declares that in the archives of the Lodge " Luci Perpetua , " at Naples , a certificate , numbered 13 , 7 r 5 , is to be found , de-

Is Pio Nono A Freemason?

claring that on the night of August , 15 th , 1839 , Giovanni Mastai Ferritti was received as a Freemason in the Lodge " Eterna Catena , " Palermo . This certificate is signed as before by the newlyinitiated brother the Pope himself , the W . M ., and the Secretary , whose names have alread y

been given . This certificate is countersigned by " Sisto Calano , " as was before said , G . M . of the Grand Lodge of Naples , and has the vise of Prince Wm . von Wittlesbach , Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Bavaria . Such are the facts of the case . In the first place , we should like to

know whether this certificate is to be found at Naples or at Nuremburgh , whether the date is 1833 or 1839 , and what Guglielmo , M . Willelsborh , or William Von Wittelsbach has to do with it ? The fact is one way or the other , and let us first ascertain that , and then will come the

secondary question , who is the attesting G . M . of Bavaria , and what that attestation means ? We must look at the matter as an historical fact without political prepossessions or sentimental considerations . Is the statement true or untrue ? And if it is true , of what value is the document , qua an historical document ? These are questions

many brethren in Germany can answer critically , honestly , and well , and we await their reply before expressing our own opinion on the subject . We will , however , say this , we ought to have no sensational literature in Freemasemry - every statement should be tested and proved , and based alone on archaeological accuracy and historical truth .

What Next, Indeed ?

WHAT NEXT , INDEED ?

Such , we fancy , will be the almost involuntary outburst of wonder and alarm on the part of many a good old brother up , ' and down the land on reading the letter from New York in our last with reference to the installation meeting of the Montgomery Lodge , No . 6 , 0

on the 23 rd December , 1875 . & or lt seems " horribile dictu " that " at the installation ceremony ladies were admitted . " Well , our Anieri * can brethren are going ahead with a vengeance What , we hear old Past Master Dobbin say , " admit women to an installation , it ' s scandalous

never heard ot such a thing in my life before j it will ruin Freemasonry altogether , " & c , & c , & c . Now while we do not , we confess , ourselves see our way to go as far as these . bold brethren in the Montgomery Lodge , we yet do not think that any good old brother need be alarmed

amongst ourselves . We quite confess we cannot comprehend how the ceremonies of installation were performed if all were gone through in the presence of ladies , but so it would seem from the programme subjoined to the letter in question . We presume , however , that our able

brethren in New York found some means of squaring Masonic ritual with the presence of their fair sisters which does not appear in the programme . At the same time we say this , we feel bound to admit that the general feeling in Great Britain will be that it is going a little too

far , even though in a rightj direction . We are quite sensible of the great advantages which would accrue to onr Order by a more frequent admission of ladies to our greater gatherings . We see ns reason whatever wh y ladies should not be invited to our great educational and

benevolent festivals , to special soirees , to organized banquets , and to agreeable reunions . Much more might be made of the female element , no doubt , by us than is made , but there is such a thing as overdoing it . With all deference to our good brethren in New York , we cannot say that

we approve of so great a variation from established customs , perhaps our insular prejudices and old world notions may have something to do with this hesitation on our part . But so it is , and it is better frankly to say so , because we fancy that our humble opinion will be the same as

that of ninety-nine out of every hundred brethren in Great Britain . We wish the " fairy beings , " the " dear creatures , " as Bro . Simmons enthusiastically calls them ( he is young and inexperienced , and in love , and may be excused ) , all

enjoyment on all occasions , and especially desiderate their halcyon smiles and pleasant voices in our Masonic gatherings at fitting times and seasons . We know how much they add to the happiness of life , the " agremens " of society , how greatly their kind , and pure , and high thoughts elevate