The Progress Of The Controversy Raised By The French Grand Orient.

impossible for the Grand Lodge of England on its principles to acknowledge the existence or authority of the Grand Orient of France , as an integral portion of pure and ancient Masonry . We

write as " Amici Curiae , and in the trust that the French Grand Orient will by a special Assembly , at once put a stop to a baneful and perilous agitation .

Some Fresh Roman Catholic Attacks On Freemasonry.

SOME FRESH ROMAN CATHOLIC ATTACKS ON FREEMASONRY .

Two recent " mandemens or allocutions have been submitted to our notice , which we think deserve our attention , though we are heartily sick of the subject ourselves and some of our readers may , we think , be still sicker . When they have read what follows , we trust they

will say "is there not a cause , " probably whether for praise or blame , whether for note or com ment , for warning or animadversion . The one is a brief from the Pope to the Bishop of St . Paul in Brazil , published in the Univers of October 2-Jth , and a portion of which is contained in the Chaine d ' Union for December . We wish that

our good Bro . Hubert would always give us the whole document , as " excerpta " are liable to the charge of incompleteness and inaccuracy , and in all such quotations it is better to see the text and context in their entirety . The following is a translation of the brief in French ( taken from the Latin ) : — " To our venerable Brother — Health and

Apostolic Benediction . —If your arrival has been very agreeable to us , venerable Brother , it has become the more so by the good accounts we have received of your diocese . In truth at the moment when not only common report but the public journals by their impetuosity , their anger ,

their calumny , their violence , and their invectives openly show how greatly the Masonic Sect is spread in Brazil , how numerous are the persons of all ranks whom it has inveigled or altogether or partly deceived , with what tenacity it applies itself to ruin the authority of the holy

bishops , and to dissolve the Catholic Unity and the Constitution of the Church at this time . We could not but rejoice to learn that the Holy Spirit , which " bloweth where it listeth , " had inspired many of thc priests of the diocese desirous of marching in the vocation

whereunto they are called to form among them an association under the nunc of the Prince of the Apostles , and under the tutelage of the Holy Heart of Jesus , in order that uniting themselves in this conference , called the conference of St . Peter , they could , by associatine ; tin ir

thoughts and joining their forces , labour with an unanimous effort , with all the devotion and ze . il of which they arc capable , to remove tlie evils of religion and all that is for the souls \ sie ) [ of the faithful ?] a detriment and a peril . " We find no fault with this document , as it is moderate " per

se , " but we coultl wish that the Roman Curia was a little more attentive to punctuation and lucidity of expression . " Les Manx de Ia Religion " may mean anything or nothing , though we presume , that the chief of these evils is the " Masonic sect" alluded to . Sofar fiom biamingthe Brazilian

Roman Catholic clergy , however , for forming themselves into an union , if they deem that they have cause of complaint , or apprehension , we think that they are quite right in so acting , for that at any rate is b . tter than foolish anathemata antl childish excommunications . Tlie

last Papal brief is an agreeable contrast to many preceding similar publications , and we have perused it , wc confess , with no little satisfaction , as in tha present state of Roman Catholic excitement we could not expect much less , nor need we ever find fault with the p ious fervour of

earnest religionists , acting within their own lines , and defending manfully what they believe , ( if ever erroneously ) , to be in any way menaced from without . Wc wish we could say the same of the next address , which is that of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Malta

"Carmuius Comes Sicluna , " and which seems to be taken from an English paper , the Public Opinion , " of 1 , 3 th November , and translated . If some brethren will kindly procure us the Latin ori ginal of these two documents , we will publish them in the " Historical Document " portion of the Masonic Magazine , " for informa-

Some Fresh Roman Catholic Attacks On Freemasonry.

tion . " There is at Malta a paper called La Fenice , which has been set up by some liberalminded Roman Catholics , in opposition to the Jesuitical and Ultramontane party , and of this paper the Archbishop of Malta thus speaks : — " The evil being great , we declare that from the

date of the present publication , any one who writes in that journal , or contributes to its publication , whether as printer , seller , writer , or reader , will not only commit a mortal sin , but will incur " ipso facto " the punishment of the " greater

excommunication reserved to ourselves , from which without our special permission , no confession can absolve him . '' Surely this is coming it rather strong ? A man has committed a " mortal sin " who prints , or reads , or sells , or writes for the Fenice . This is liberty of the press

and individual freedom , at Malta , with a vengeance . Can anything be more absurd or more mischievous , or a greater reflexion on common sense , or more , a lasting injury to teligion ? The angry prelate then goes on piously to say : " We hope that these measures will pnrl not nnlv in

restraining the true ' fideles ' far from this poisoned pasture , but will also cause thu editors of the said " paper to repent , as well as thir fellow labourers , for whom we wish nothing better , and desire nothing more than their amendment and eternal salvation . " Does a faint memory of the

great " Pecksniff" float before any of our minds , as we peruse these words ? But do not let us judge "Carmuius Archbishop , Bishop of Malta , " too severely , and let us make allowance for that peculiar state of sensational morbidity into which as regards the Freemasons , the \ v hole Roman

Catholic Church seems just now to have fallen . And now we leave the subject , which we shall not return to willingly , and not at all , if thc Roman Catholic Church will leave us alone , but we should be something worse than

cowards , if we did not notice in the pages of the Freemason attacks , and a system of persecution , which though utterly worthless and harmless to our Order , are yet an insult to reason , liberty of conscience , and above all , to true reliirion .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

[ We iln not hold ourselves responsible for , or even AS approving "I theopinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wish , in a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . —ED . ]

FREEMASONRY IN SCOTLAND . To thc Editor if the " Freemason . " Dear Sir antl Brother , — We have recently heard much of th- * degeneracy of our noble Cr . ift amingst our countrymen to the north of the Tweed . As an evidence of tills , . ind as a striking proof of the urgent reel existing * for improvement in the

supervision of private bulges as now exercised by the Grand l . mlt-e of Scotland , I would ask you to make known the following facts : — A lotlge at Arbroath has recently built a ball to meet in , and there is a debt upon the building , which the lodge is anxious to clear off ( I gather these facts Jrom the documents 1 enclose ) , and to do this , they have got up a lottery

upon the principle of the Art Union of England , offeiing prizes of from £ 30 to 15 s , in value , lo hc drawn for on tie nth 1 if February next , and they have issued sixpenny tickets , which they are offering for sale to English lodges . The documents I enclose came to me by post , and were directed to "The W . M . of Lotlge No . — & c ., \* c , " from

winch f tt'ink it is fair to presume that similar commutuc-uions have been nddrcsscd to other lodges in England , ami perhaps elsewhere . Begging from strangers is at all times unseemly , no matter for how worthy an object , and is it not still more unseemly for the Worshipful Master of , 1 lotlge to send l . rggitrg letters in print to the Worshipful Masters of

stranger lodges , not even under the same jurisdiction , asking them to assist in selling lottery tickets " amongst brethren and the public , " to help to clear off a debt which his lotlge ought never to have incurred , if they were going to / TIT ill order to pay it off ? This appears to mc to be a more objectionable

proceeding even than the touting for members hy new lodges , which has vcry recently called for the severe censure of the Pro Grand Master and the Board of General Purposes , and I most sincerely hope no other instance will ever call for condemnation . I am , dear Sir and Brother , yours fraternally , S . M . M . C . O . P . M ., P . Prov . G . Sec , -u .

To the Editor or the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I have read with deep tegret the two letters of Brother Thomson , of Galashiels . If I may be allowed to

Original Correspondence.

say so , I think it is better for all communities " to was h their dirty linen at home . " The majority of your reade rs arc brethren residing in England , and not in Scotlan d ; our English brethren can onl y take a fraternal interest in our concerns ; they can give us no hel p , only their sympathy . Bro . Thomson may have just cause for complaint , but I

would suggest to him to consider whether the more Masonic course would not have been to have sought to lop off the excresences and reduce rude matter to its proper form at home . This , I may say , is my idea of the case . I know Bro . Thomson to be a zealous and earnest Mason ; 1 know that he , in common with ethers , have

grievances—antl just ones too . Let us , then , one and all unite and endeavour to reduce this rude matter lo its proper form . Bro . Thomson , I am afraid , has not considered this matter in its full and general light . While he condemns the system , he t ffers nothing in its place . I can assure him that I have for a long time been seeking to

accomplish his aim Masonically and eonstitutiorally ; but to set the Grand Lotlge of Scotland on a firm basis demands many things—first , r . o isolated motions will or can succeed of themselves ; secondly , you may change your executive office-bearers as often as you like ( " but the general system requires partial , if not entire , reconstruction " ) ; thirdly , the bcsl system that can be conceived

cannot succeed , the best officers available cannot carry out our wishes , if the lodges in general aid every individual Mason in Scotland be not prompt to execute the design . The ideas that I propose through your columns to bring before my Scottish brethren may be considered by many etude in the extreme , but after long thought and anxious enquiry , I feel they may at any rate guide our brethren in

the re-arrangement required . I have now a motion before Grand Lodge of Scotland , which I trust ( if duly supported and carried ) may lead to a better state of affairs than we have at present ; but I should add , that if the " surgeon ' s knife" be put in ( and no doubt lightlv ) to the root aud the stcm the branches also must feel the incision . Our Grand lodge can , and

may , be made good by patient care and the application of good remedies ; our Provincial Giand Lodges should be made to bear . their portion of the work , but thc daughter lodges themselves must also feel the " surgeon ' s knife . " If or . e and all will join in the restoration of Masonry in Scotland , no one will be more delighted than Yours fraternilly ,

GEO . R . IIAIUIIOTT , of Killiemorc , Prov . G . M . Wigtown and Kirkcudbright .

TRADING ON FREEMASONRY . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Will the editor of the Freemason accept this modest criticism of a still more modest " bid for trade ? " " litggleshtrij Independent Ofiice , 54 , Church-street , Iligglesbury , November 17 th , 1876 . " Dear Sir and Brother , —Thc growth , both in

numbers and importance , of this ancient Order during the last few years , and notably so since the Installation of our future Sovereign as the Most Worshipful Grand Master , has been so rapid , that it has become an object of primary impoilaucc for thc weal anil successful advancement of the Order , that a public means of communication between the various lodges in this and the adjoining provinces shoultl be available . "

I he Craft has not yet discovered this object of such primary importance . " With a view to afford s * me facilities to the Craft fcr this purpose , we have decided , after due consideration and consultation , to appropriate a limited space in our columns for the special purpose of Freemasonry , commercing Saturday , December 2 nd , 1 S 7 G . "

Very appropriate indeed ! Probably to come in at thc end amongst riddles , extracts from comic papers , & c , " It is our intention to avoid , as far as possible , giving details of any circumstances which may not be of general interest to the surrounding provinces . We do not propose to report Ihe meetings of the various lodges at full length , nor the after dinner speeches , but to give a brief record of

thc business done . ' Masonry ceases to be a secret institution when names , & c , are put in piint in a local paper . " It is also our purpose to open a list of meetings , to be held during the week after publication , with notices of adjournments , and other information necessary to avoid the disappointment and annoyance so frequently

experienced by brethren who happen to attend at the usual hour and place of meeting , and find that thc lodges have adjourned for vacation . " Calendars at id . each , compiled by authority , give date , time , and place of meeting of every lodge , chapter , etc ., in the province . " Wc intend also to notify thc meetings of Provincial

Grand Lodges , and to report the proceedings as far as admissible , giving thc names of the newly appointed officers ; and wc hope in doing so to avoid Ihe eirors so frequently committed by our local contemporaries in giving the initial titles to each . " This is sufficiently well done at present . Initial titles arc surely understootl by the Craft ! I " In irder that all our reports maybe strictly coirrcl

and in accordance wilh the constitutions of the Order , and . that nothing unmasonic or disadvantageous to the Craft may be inserted , and that tbe ancient tenets of Ihe Order—Brotherly Love , Relief , and Truth—may be ever maintained amongst the brethren , we shall place the editorial supervision of this department in thc hands of a brother , who is fully conversant with the details of every branch ot Freemasonry . "