Freemasonry In The United States.

l ? iriment , under the baton of Bro . Mackeever , they rea red to the steamer as follows : Em . Sir Peter Forrester ; r ^ mmander ; Sir Knig hts E . M . L . Ehlers , Generalissimo , W D . May , Captain General ; Em . Sir Knights Robert Macoy , Gr . Recorder , and Chas . Aikman , Gr . Warder ; i ? Ern- Sir Knight Beatty , Past Gr . Commander , and V Sir Knight Lancing Burrows , Grand Prelate of the Gr . Commander of New Jersey ; the officers and twenty Sir

Kniehts of Damascus Commandery ,, No . 5 , of Newark , w 1 . and a delegation of Sir Knights from Clinton Commandery , No . 14 , of Brooklyn ; the whole forming line of about ninety Knights Templars in full uniform . The Beauseant was displayed as well as the guidons by their bearers . Among many of the well-known knights of the Commandery we noticed Sir Knights Wm . Fowler , a of the Knickerbockersand Fairchildand

lescendant , E . B . , K Bonahue , jr . of the ' eommand . The trip to the beach was greatly enjoyed , the day being unexceptionably fine , the music by the band being all that could be desired and the attention of Sir Knight Worth duly appreciated by all . On arrival at the second landing , the objective point , a salute of nine guns was fired , when the

visiting Sir Knights were welcomed by the proprietors of the Sea-Side House , Messrs . Remsen and Wainwright , and after re-forming on their spacious . landing and preceded by the drum and fife corps , were by the gentlemen named escorted to their magnificent pavilion on the ocean , where , after the command were brought in line , the hosts of the Sea-Side House invited the

excursionists to a feast at three p . m . The command broke ranks , and , until the hour designated , enjoyed themselves with bathing , dancing , and occasionall y smiling . Three o ' clock having arrived , the Knig hts , with the ladies accompanying them , were seated at two long tables in the upper pavilion , where pyramids nf roast clams and any quantity of clam chowder was

ready for the assault . In fact when the pyramid of clams was captured , and they grew clam-iferous , more pyramids appeared , until they gave up in perfect exhaustion . To the orig inator of the excursion , Sir Knight Worth , and to the landlords of the Sea-Side House all credit is due for their exertions , free of charge , to make everything go as pleasant as a marriage feast is supposed to ' go . —lVeiu York Dispatch .

The-Grand Orient Of France.

THE-GRAND ORIENT OF FRANCE .

This Orient has been conducting itself very unmasonically . At its general meeting , held in Paris in September last , it was decided by a large majority to take into consideration the outrageously unmasonic proposal , viz . " The obliteration from their Constitution of the belief in

God and in the Immortality of the Soul . " It appears that the majority of members in this Orient are what are commonly called " Atheists , " who like to live " without God , " and denying , as they do , the " Immortality of the Soul , " to die " without hope . " They , in their own self-esteem , have

become so elevated or superhuman , that they are contented to live and die " like the beasts of the field . " Of course , being " highly cultivated " ( as they fancy ) , they think it their privilege to be on the same level with the beasts of the field . It will be well for these deluded individuals to

pay attention to what some of the greatest and the most philosophical and learned of men have said on the subject of Atheism . For their behoof we quote the following : 1 . Lord Herbert , of Cherbury : " Whoever considers the study of anatomy , I believe will never be an Atheist ; the frame of man ' s body , and coherence of his parts , being so strange and paradoxical that I hold it to be the greatest miracle of Nature . "

2 . It is said of Galen , the celebrated physician of antiquity , that he was once atheistically inclined . But after he had anatomized the human body , and carefully surveyed the frame of it , viewed the fitness and usefulness of every part of it , and the many intentions of every little vein , bone and muscle , and the beauty of the whole , he fell into a fit of devotion and wrote " a hymn to his Creator . "

3 . Dr . Marshall , a lecturer on anatomy , once devoted a whole lecture to display the'profound science that was visible in the formation ot " the double hinges" of our joints . Such was the effect of his " demonstrations " that an inquisitive friend , who had accompanied Dr . Turner to the lecture , with sceptical inclinations , suddenly exclaimed with great emphasis , " A man must be a fool indeed who , after duly studying his own body , can remain an atheist . "

4- Dr . Arnold , in one of his weighty letters , says , " I confess that I believe conscientious Atheism not to exist . " 5- Dr . Krummacher , in his Alliance Paper on Infinity in Germany , remarks " That atheism in the lower plasses appears as a plant—proceeding more from political interest than as a proof proceeding from a clear self-JU ( igment . Religion is looked upon as an invention to

Prcss down the people . " Mr - Vanderkiste , in his deeply interesting " Notes and Narratives of a Six Years' Mission among the Dens « London , " says : " The so-called atheists with whom I ave met have proved , with few exceptions , upon being ciosel y questioned , not really to be atheists at all . They admitted

vm sorae causation , and when pressed closely Pon the subject of intelligent causation , and required to tine terms , they have fairly broken down and become of Sry ' . Atheism is to be regarded as the desperate shift snn „ V ,. gulated mind > determined to rid itself of re-I'onsibility at the expens \ of all reason aud argument . /• John Foster , the orieinal-minded author of the

cessh S S " Tnewond « then turns on the great prolan / u- V - man may S row U P t 0 the immense inteland wL ^ v u Can know there is no God - What a S mtellie , ? ? re rc 1 uisite 1 ° "" 'his attainment ! This a GodT j ttV ° , the very a « rihutes of Divinity while unless he - m ™ For - unless this man is omnipresent , ne is at this moment present at every part in the

The-Grand Orient Of France.

universe , he cannot know but there may be in some place manifestations of Deity , by which even he may be overpowered . If he does not know absolutely every agent in the universe , the one that he does not know may be God . If he is not himself the chief agent in the universe , and does not know what is so , that which is so may be God . If he is not in absolute possession of all the . propositions

that constitute universal truth , the one that he wants may be that there is a God . If he cannot with certainty assign the cause of all he perceives to exist , that cause may be God . If he does not know everything that has been done in the immeasurable ages that are past , some things may have been done by a God . Thus , unless he knows all things—that is , precludes all other Divine existence by

being Deity himself—he cannot know that the Being whose existence he rejects does not exist . But he must know that he does not exist , else he deserves equal contempt and compassion for the temerity with which he 'firmly avows his rejection and acts accordingly . " 8 . Newton , Kepler , and others of the greatest discoverers in science , rose from Nature up to Nature's God ,

and had their minds filled with " religious emotion " when exploring the earth and the heavens . 9 . Lord Bacon , " one of the most remarkable of men of whom any age can boast "—" a reformer of philosophy " —says ; " God never wrought a miracle to convince Atheism , because His ordinary work convinced it . " ro . Morell , in his " History of Philosophy , vol . 2 , pp .

646-7 , " states ; " If you want argument from design , then you see in the human frame the most perfect of all known organization . If you want the argument from being , then man i » his conscious dependence has the clearest conviction of the independent and absolute one on which his own being reposes . If you want the argument from reason and morals , then the human mind is the only known

repository of both . Man is , in fact , a microcosm—a universe in himself ; and whatever proof the whole universe affords is involved , in principle , in man himself . With this image of God before us , who ca n doubt of the Divine type ?" 11 . Cicero , Brougham , Paley , Chalmers , and others , with unrivalled eloquence , have convincingly established

the argument—declared in the Sacred Law— " The heavens declare the Glory of God , and the firmament showeth forth His handiwork . " It is needless to multiply quotations . The opinions of philosophers ought to have " weight" with " the Atheists " in the Grand Orient of France , who , we confidently and defiantly assert , have not " the gigantic mind " either of

Bacon , Newton , or Kepler . Would the Atheists in the Grand Orient of France remember that if they persist in their truly unmasonic resolution , " cut off , " they must be from , and disowned by , all the genuine Sons of Hiram in the Universe of Masonry . Alas , for La Belle France ! The Atheism of its Goddefying children has been its ruin . Did not Atheism

produce the too-well-known " Reign of Terror " in that land ? Did not Atheism then transform " the beautiful" France into a troubled sea and a sea of blood ? Did not Atheism dissolve the bonds of Society ? Did not Atheism worship a common Siren in a state of nudity , as " The Goddess of Reason ? " Ay , did not Atheism , under the sacred name of liberty , perpetrate " horrid deeds , " which are unrivalled in the history of the world ? In the words of

Lamartine" The republic of these men without a God was quickly stranded . " And we again assure the Atheists in the Grand Orient of unhappy France— " Let the throne in the heavens be declared vacant and proclamation be made throughout the land that there is no God " —not only are the Masonic bonds that bind Masons dissolved , but society itself is reft of all its safeguards , crime is committed without dread of punishment , and the vilest passions of the vilest rush onward without restraint . —Australian Freemason .

Freemasonry In New Zealand.

FREEMASONRY IN NEW ZEALAND .

The Chapter of St . John was opened and consecrated , at Timaru , on Tuesday , 10 th April , by M . E . Comp . H . Thomson , M . E . Comp . Thiel , and E . Comp . Deaner , from St . Augustine Chapter , Christchurch ; Comp . G . H . Wildie , rst P . ; Comp . W . Williamson , - 2 nd P , ; Comp .

John King , 3 rd P . ; Comp . Samuel Hammond , Treasurer ; R . R . Taylor , P . S . ; Comp . N . M . Simms , S . E . ; Comp . N . A . Hobbs , S . N . ; Comp . J .. N . S . Ziester , Organist , ; Comp . N . Dall , Janitor , ; eight Brethren of St . John's Lodge were exalted , and three joining members admitted .

At the conclusion of consecration ceremony the companions sat down to a dinner in the Library of the Masonic Hall . Owing to the amount of business to be done , the dinner was not a lengthy one and only a few of the principal toasts were drunk .

MASONS STREETS . — During the Middle Ages it was a custom universally followed in large cities and smaller provincial towns , for the several Craftsmen of various avocations to be aggregated in lodges which occupied either the entire quarters of a municipality , or were opened on both sides of a street which was often designated by the name of the handicraft . At a very remote period the Austrian metropolis , Vienna , had the public

thoroughfares , according to a venerable plot of the city , specially set apart , and also entirely abandoned to various skilled handicrafts . For many centuries the Masons in Paris weie regularly domiciled along the Rue des Macons , and in this respect closely followed a more ancient custom descended from their Roman predecessors . A number of the cities of the United States have a " Freemasons ' -street , " for example , Norfolk , Va ., and Indianopolis . Indiana .

We are requested to announce that the Yarborough Lodge , No . 244 , Jersey , will meet at the Masonic Temple , Stopford-road , St . Helier's , Jersey , on Monday , 13 th inst ., at 7 p . m .

Right Estimate Of Freemasonry.

RIGHT ESTIMATE OF FREEMASONRY .

Masonry , like every other institution , has a body and a soul , and therefore is to be regarded both literally and spiritually . If only the outward form—the visible unfolding—is taken into account , there will be no high and proper estimate of its character . It requires a mental and moral discernment to obtain a large and just appreciation

of the Masonic system . Running rapidly through the degrees , gathering a few catch words of the ritual , occasionally witnessing some portion of the ceremony rehearsed , paying dues and fulfilling the specific obligations that Masonry imposes , will by no means lead to a full comprehension of the genius of our institution , or make evident the sublimity of its principles and its far-reaching

moral benefits . A man without imagination or sensitiveness of soul , having no mental or moral training , whose whole being is saturated with materialism , can by no effort estimate rightly the breadth and sweep of the Masonic system . It makes no difference how many degrees such an one may take , how perfect , even , he may become in the text of the ritual and in matters of

ceremonial procedure , there will always remain a glory hidden from his discerning , so that he will see and judge the institution on its lower and not on its superior side . When the land surveyor looks forth upon the landscape he sees so much of distance and surface manifestations , so many helps or obstructions in the laying out of roads , the building of bridges , or the cutting of tunnels .

The speculator in real estate notes the availability of the same prospect for house lots , his estimate being that of the market . The geologist and chemist regard the formation of the rock and the properties of the soil , their estimate being also professional and limited . It is the man imbued with a love of nature , possessed of a true sensitiveness of soul , and a broader reach of thought and vision , who alone is able to pass all these lines of

outward seeming to discern a beauty and a worth in the landscape which were but faintly apprehended by the others . To him a wonderful meaning—an indescribable charm—will be manifest , as he goes forth among the fields or forests which fill his cultivated thought with a thousand suggestions , while by such an intelligent estimate of nature he is lifted up into communion with Nature ' s God .

Precisely thus are some men fitted to appreciate Masonry at its best , to discern its genius and its philosophy , while others will never do more than perceive its material side , albeit they may become excellently well versed in the technicalities of the system and punctually fulfil its outward obligations . Perhaps these ought not to have entered the fraternity . They are unsuited by original constitution

and temperament , by lack of any special capacity , and by the want of mental and moral training , for the rightful appreciation of a society which holds a philosophy of such mystical character , and makes use of forms and legends so various for the purpose of ministering to the faculties that belong to the spiritual side of human nature . But being admitted to Masonic relationship , even the

comparatively prosaic and uncultivated should consider that they have pledged themselves to a work of personal spiritual expansion . First of all they must devote themselves to a cultivation of sentiments and faculties which lie dormant in their natures , so that they may apprehend the underlying principles and moral glory of Masonry , no less than its visible signs and practical benefits . Let them

but exercise their moral powers , cultivate a spiritual insight , and it will not be very long before they will begin to appreciate the moral and philosophical character of the organization to which they have given their allegiance . Then they will honour it , not merely for its instituted forms and prescribed ceremonies , its social helps and bountiful benefactions , but also for these intangible yet essential

properties that belong to its higher life and character . Masonry has a soul as well as a body . The body is one outward and visible part , comprising law , ritual and ceremony ; organization and administration ; a ^ variety of practical manifestations by no means to be undervalued The soul is the interior life—the vital source of impulse

and grandest movement , and may of right claim preeminence . Hence more thought and study should be given to the spiritual characteristics that impart to Masonry its truest dignityj and worth , while the brethren keep in mind that statement which applies to every system , even to religion itself , viz .: that the letter kills , while the spirit alone gives life . —Repository .

The quietness of an hotel in London possesses a great charm , especially to those who , visiting town from country seats or country towns , seek refuge from the noise and babel in their hotels , in many cases only to find the quietness sought for an illusion . Many Metropolitan Hotels , replete with accomodation , are situated in noisy throughfares , or great centres of traffic ; and it is our

pleasure now to direct the attention of noblemen , gentlemen , and families to an hotel that , although situate in the fashionable part of town , and within a stone ' s throw , so to write , of Saint James ' s-street , Pall Mall , Piccadilly and Bond-street , yet possesses all the advantages of perfect quietude and a private and direct entry to the Green Park . There is no traffic through Saint James ' s Place , Saint

James ' s-street , and in this is situate ( No . 17 ) Green's Saint James's place Hotel , containing elegant suites of rooms adapted for families of the highest distinction , and in addition single apartments with use of coffee room . The great care devoted to the cuisine , the choice selections of first quality wines , good attendance , and the whole

under the personal supervision of Bro . Anton Herold , give to visitors frequenting the establishment all the comforts of a home . The elegant suites of rooms are admirably adapted for lodge meetings and banquets ; and it is desired that noblemen and gentlemen , will kindly give the same their consideration , being ensured of every attention and accommodation .