The Struggle In France.

f all our brethren in France and Belgium . Its " ' deration W ; JI ensure attention , and its ability •JJ attract readers . Heartily agreeing with every word of it , and rejoicing to note how it confirms in every particular our previously exnressed opinions , we feel that it is in itself a

comp lete justification ot every remark we nave made and of every argument we have used . Our Bro . Valleton , who is thej correspondent , we believe , of the " Monde Maconnique , " says , that we believe everything the Bishop of Orleans and others choose to say against Freemasonry in

France , & c . But , begging his pardon , we do nothing of the kind . We have , on the contrary , pointed out where we think Bro . Caubet has the advantage of the Bishop of Orleans , but where also , as Bro . Caubet seems to admit , the Bishop of Orleans may fairly complain of

speeches which are not Masonic in any sense . We a ^ ree with Bro . Caubet that , so far , the Grand Orients of both countries are not responsible for the silly vapourings of individual brethren . When we talked of the " sterile path of politics , & c , " we meant that the Grand Orient

should publicly disavow any sympathy with many of the proceedings of the lodges under its control , with numberless discussions which are not Masonic , and which ' do no good to true Freemasonry . As a body it is possible the Grand Orient does not allow any discussion on such

topics , but if we in England in our lodges amused ourselves by long debates about purely political matters , such as the education question , and numerous social subjects which we leave wisely to the legislative bodies , and , above all , if we put forth disquisitions on points both of

doubtful morality and actual scepticism , our Grand Lodge would be held responsible for the acts of the private lodges . And so it must be in France . The one hope of safety and salvation for Freemasonry in France and Belgium is that

it may cease to be a debating club , and that it will banish all religious and political discussions from every lodge , and give itself up to works of common beneficence and usefulness , as peaceable and law-abiding citizens , as instructed and faithful Freemasons .

The Loss Of The Vanguard.

THE LOSS OF THE VANGUARD .

Few Englishmen , or Scotchmen , or Irishmen , but felt a thrill of pain , when they heard of the submersion of this noble specimen of our modern naval construction . We all feel proud , perhaps no longer of our " wooden walls , " but at any rate of our " ironclad bulwarks . " There is

something in the free , manly , devoted spirit of sea service which has ever commended itself very deeply to tbe hearts and sympathies of all the inhabitants of Great Britain . We have been

proud of our navy , its successes , its devotion , its disci pline , and its unconquered flag ! It is not often that such disasters have happened , though of course , in the long and stormy annals ofthe past , amid deeds of danger and scenes of

peril , amid the storm and tempest , the battle and the breeze , amid the horrors of fire and the dangers of icy seas , we have had more than one occasion to mourn over losses of ships , and above all losses of life . The Royal George went

down , with brave old Kempenfelt , with many hundred men ; the Captain capsized in a squall off the Spanish coast ; and we have had to deplore numerous cases of mournful shipwreck , only li ghtened up by the heroic endurance and

the unfaltering discipline of our gallant blue jackets . In a fog oft" the Irish coast one great ironclad runs into the other , and in an hour the ' Vanguard , " struck by the ram , goes down in nineteen fathoms of water , luckily with no loss

of life , except the captain ' s faithful dog . What a commentary on the uncertainty of earthly things , and the insecurity of earthly strength ! Despite " water tight compartments , " & c ., which aim to keep the vessel afloat , the fatal rent has apparently overpowered all scientific contrivances ,

or rather the mighty and irresistible and uncontrollable ocean has asserted its own unchanging strength . Whether the "Vanguard" can be raised or not , remains to be seen , but whether ° no , it _ is impossible but such an event must ° e a matter of much serious thought for all connected with the navy , and indeed for any

The Loss Of The Vanguard.

reflecting person . One writer states that the " Vanguard " could not communicate with the " Iron Duke " because it had no ' means of signalling in a fog . Surely the advance of science is able to deal with such a question as this , and in this age of discovery and amelioration , some

mode may be found of affording the means of fog-signalling . It seems odd to an impartial spectator , that in a fog such mighty vessels were so close together , so as to allow no room for the slig htest variation of the course , but that is surely a question for the naval enquiry . We are only expressing the feeling of all our readers

when we say how much we regret to hear of such a startling catastrophe , and when we rejoice in knowing that all lives were saved , and that the " devouring main " which holds this mighty specimen of our modern Navy in its tumultuous waves , has not also in its mysterious depths any human victims , for us to mourn over , or to weep for .

The Perils Of The Rail.

THE PERILS OF THE RAIL .

Those of us who are old enough to remember the days of coaching , and the George and Blue Boar , Holborn , will call to mind not a few of the perils of the road . To-day we are most concerned , sic " tempera mutantur , " with the perils of the rail . Every now and then London , calmly

perusing thc "limes and daily papers , is startled from its apathy by the account of some dire accident . Many , then , are our remarks , " More Britannorum , " and forcible are our observations . Still the perils remain , still they crop up , still they sadden us with their lugubrious

details , still they make us actually think for a few passing moments , for the " phenomenon " of a railway accident is very impressive . Despite all the advance of science and efforts of skill , despite all human care and precaution , it often happens that" in a moment in the twinkling of an eve , " the

line is covered with the debris of shattered and splintered carriages , the ground occupied by the wounded , the dying , and the dead , and the shrieks of agonizing suffering ' , or the exclamations of absorbing terror , affect the strongest heart , and flurry the stoutest nerve . And we confess ,

that despite many great and heartrendingepisodes in railway travelling , we have seldom realized more deeply the perils of the rail than in the recent Kildwick calamity . The remarks of the " Times " on the subject were most opportune and effective , and at the same time most

undeniably true . Kildwick is a station of the Midland Railway , in what is termed the Craven country , and this train was an excursion train returning to Bradford . Some hard worked Bradfordians had been away for an " outing , " and on their homeward return there comes this dreadful

accident , this cruel suffering for them and surviving friends . And then of course re-appears the eld question , Who ' s to blame ? Who did it ? The first and hasty reply to the question is generally an attack on the railway company . At such times the frame of mind ofthe British travelling

public is very severe , and they believe that until the fate happens to a Director or General Manager which Sydney Smith anticipated for a Bishop these accidents will never cease . Now , we feel bound to say for the Midland Railway Company , knowing its line well , that despite

some dreadful accidents which have occured on it , it is most carefully worked and skilfully managed . All precautions are taken , humanly speaking , to avoid collisions and to shut out danger in travelling ; and we do not suppose that any company , as a rule , is more watchful over

its arrangements and its officials , who , for the most part , are steady , particular , and yet obliging . Probabl y it all will have arisen from some unforeseen and uncontrollable contingency , the mistake of a pointsman , orthe error of a signalman . The enquiry under Captain Tvler will probably tell

us something to this effect . Ar . d then what more can be done or said ? The victims are gone , the sufferers are still there . We do not know that much more can be made of the matter one way or the other . It is a most

deplorable accident , and affecting in its commentary on the vicissitudes of human life , and the uncertainties of a day of pleasurable excursion . All our readers will be full of pity for those who saw the sad catastrophe , who suffered from it ,

The Perils Of The Rail.

who survive it , who have left their friends to mourn for them for many a long day . But numbering the thousands upon thousands who throng our railway system , the stress upon railway officials , the extreme carelessness of many excursionists , and above all the unavoidable

contingencies and perils of the rail , wecannot shut our eyes to the fact , considering everything , that accidents are happily not of frequent occurrence , and we are disposed to doubt whether the perils of the rail , with countless travellers to-day ,

exceed in their measure the penis of the road , with their hundreds by comparison fifty years ago . Since this was written the official enquiry has demonstrated that the collision was owing to one or both of the causes mentioned above .

The Masonic Struggle In France, And The New Position Of Freemasonry There.

THE MASONIC STRUGGLE IN FRANCE , AND THE NEW POSITION OF FREEMASONRY THERE .

With reference to the present struggle going on in France between thc Ultramontanes and the Freemasons , and the true position of Freemasonry in that country , we have translated the following interesting paper , which originally appeared in the " Eglise Libre " of Nice , and is

quoted by Bro . Hubert in the " Chaine de L'Union , " for August . To understand the extract aright , we must bear in mind the internecine struggle going on between the opposing schools of thought and action , and we shall appreciate the impartial spirit and the correct views of the writer , be he who he may . " With regard to the philosophical address of Mons . Littre ' ,

at his Masonic initiation , the " Eglife Libre " has expressed the idea to which all Christians will subscribe . It is evi » dent that if Freemasonry , which appears to aim at rallying all the living forces of true liberality in the struggle against an invading clericalism , had no other profession of principles but that made at the lodge of " La Clemente Amtie ' , " it would drive away from it not only

Christians , but those convinced spiritualists who think you cannot create a sound social and individual morality without positive belief in the soul and its immortality . A fortiori the disciples of our common Saviour would feel themselves obliged to separate themselves from a society which was expressly based on principles hostile to their faith . But must we consider Mons . Littre ' s manifesto as

an official declaration of Freemasonry ? No ; and nothing could be more erroneous . One might contend " au contraire , " that the traditional and authentic Masonic principles are opposed to materialism and positivism . They are based on the belief in a personal God . The ancient expression of the "Great Architect of the Universe " applied to God , sufficiently indicates this fact ,

and one might say that the immense majority of Freemasons , especially among the middle and working class , still hold to this religious and moral idea , as philosophical as any other , and most akin to common sense . It is true that Freemasonry has not escaped more than other human societies in general , and religious denominations ( churches ) in particular , also , from the contentions

of intellect , and from thc divisions which result from them . All the perturbations of our actual society are reflected in them . We have had orthodox and Freethinkers , and we remember that a lodge was suspended some years ago by the Grand Orient of France for having introduced in its regulations details of doctrine which contradicted the traditional principles ! There arc also among Freemasons the " Littre ' s "

" in petto , " and even more advanced , as well as fervent Roman Catholics . The latter have become more rare since the war declared by the syllabus . There arc in particular two great currents , one which draws us towards the principles of thc morality called independent , and which entirely contests the affirmation of all believers , the other , which maintains the belief in God , Father of all men , source and

end of the activity of all moral beings . This last , we say once more , is in a great majority . Whatever it may be , we may say that Positivism is not at all the official faith of Freemasons—just the contrary . They have come to tolerate it greatly , that is all . That this toleration may be maintained without giving a mournful blow to that humanitarian alliance which Freemasonry seeks , it is

certainly desirable that it should not degenerate into manifestoes like that which has been alluded to . It is true that in thc place of believing that thc Littre manifesto is painful to the conscience of Christians , wc might deduce from it on the contrary , that Mons . "Littre " dogmatizing gave to Christians the right of professing their beliefs in thc lodges , and of rendering homage to

their Saviour . And as there are men of faith among the Freemasons the Gospel truth would have thcie its representatives and its defenders . But Freemasonry would lose too soon its character and its usefulness , if it became an arena for religious discussions , and of diverging professions of faith . The best would be , that it should return to its neutral character and its original purpose , which is

an humanitarian alliance outside and above all political and religious parties , with this only dogma positive and exclusive ; liberty for all , and respect of all ! Holding itself within these limits as it is in reality inclined , Freemasonry could not have anything hostile to the evangelical faith , nor repugnant to Christians . On the contrary it could become one of the " boulevarts " of modern liberties ,

for it is the only general organization and tolerated in all states which can be opposed to the great Jesuitical conspiracy . Far from encouraging Christians from uniting themselves with its effotts , and enrolling themselves under its banners , we ought to urge perhaps all liberal minded believers to enter its lodges . They would prevent Freemasonry from getting into the hands of intolerant philoso-