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To ADVERTISERS . THE Circulation of THE FREEMASON being now at the rate of nearly ffalf-a-million per annum , 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 forsign parts , its advantages as an advertising medium can scarcely be overrated . For terms apply to < i GEORGE KENNING , 2 , 3 , & 4 , LITTLE BRITAIN , LONDON , E . C .

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NOTICE . 0 The Subscription to THE FREEMASON is now 10 s . per annum , post-free , payable in advance . Vol . I ., bound in cloth 4 s . 6 d . Vol . II ., ditto 7 s . 6 d . Reading Cases to hold 52 numbers ... 2 s . 6 d .

Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

BIRTH . FOURDRINIER . —On the gth inst ., the widow of the late Bro . Paul Fourdrinier , P . M ., of a daughter . DEATH . CHAMBERS . —On the 26 th of Ma ) ' , 1870 , at his residence , Birkbeck Cottage , Parton , Whitehaven , Cumberland , Captain John Carr Chambers , of IT . M . Royal Hanoverian Regiment , Lucia , Jamaica .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

4 All communications for THE FREEMASON should be written legilly on one side of the paper only , and , if intended for insertion in tlie current number , must be received not later than 10 o'clock a . m . on Thursdays , unless in very special cases . The name and address of every writer must be sent to us in confidence . P . M . —There can be no objection , provided you do not introduce it to the audience as a Masonic illustration .

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The Freemason , SATURDAY , DECEMBER 17 , 1 S 70 .

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THK FREEMASON is published on Saturday Mornings in time for tlie « arly trains . The price of THE FREEMASON is Twopence per week ; annual subscription , los . ( payable in advance ) . All communications , letters , & c , to be addressed to the EDITOR , 1 , , and 4 , Little Britain , E . C . The Editor will pay careful attention to all MSS . entrusted to him-Siul cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied by postage stamps .

The Earl Of Dalhousie And The Scottish Craft.

The EARL of DALHOUSIE and the SCOTTISH CRAFT .

THE retirement of the Earl of Dalhousie from the direction of Masonic affairs in Scotland , is an event which we cannot dismiss from our memories without a word

of comment . Successor to an illustrious line of Grand Masters , not thc least distinguished of which was his immediate predecessor , the lamented Duke of Athole ,

Lord Dalhousie has well and wisely exercised the powers and privileges of his high office . His lordship has been for many years a member of the Craft , and an

ardent upholder of its principles on all occasions , The adherence of such men , and the support afforded by their unwavering loyalty to the Masonic bond , are , it may

be safely affirmed , manifestations not without interest or significance even to thc outer world . Philosophers have sneered at

Freemasonry , and derided its pretensions as a science . Political economists have ignored it , as a non-essential clement in their calculations . Fanatics have railed

The Earl Of Dalhousie And The Scottish Craft.

and thundered against its imaginary tendencies and aims . But with all this array of opposition , active or passive , no good man who has ever entered the Order has

been frightened out of it , and this is a fact which may be commended to the consideration of those amongst our opponents who if sincere are not altogether unreasonable .

We are not worshippers of rank , or of high-sounding names as such ; we are not panderers to the tastes of the vicious , however far descended they may be ; and moreover it is not in the essence of true

Masonry to tolerate evil for the sake of the evil-doer . Yet we confess to a feeling of pride and pleasure in the reflection that men whose actions are as honourable as

their lineage is noble and pure , are actively engaged amongst us in the glorious labour of spreading the cement of brotherly love and diffusing the halo of charity and peace

throughout the regions of the earth . To such men , the honours of Freemasonry are honours indeed , however lightly they may be esteemed by the idle or indifferent

observer . The legitimate scope of their ambition comprehends other prizes than those which appertain to the noisy arena of politics , or the tragic scenes of war .

Their ideas of fame are not bounded even by the applause of learned coteries , or the distinctions of literary renown . No ; fired by thoughts which embrace at once the

physical comfort and the moral happiness of man , they devote themselves to toils whose recompense is found in a clear conscience , without at the same time forsaking

those duties which are incumbent upon all , in whatever situation of life they may be placed . Thus , a gallant soldier , like the veteran Combermere , ceases not

to be a soldier when he becomes a Mason ; in both spheres he shines , in thc one with a lustre which dazzles , and in the other with a warmth which delights . In like

manner we have statesmen like De Grey and Dalhousie , gifted to rule and guide the cumbrous machine of National Government , skilful in every detail of statecraft and

domestic policy , yet ready also to take part in the organisation of a fraternity which , although great , mainly works unseen and unheard . And such men are the better and

nobler for it . Thc domain of Freemasonry is not circumscribed by political boundaries : hersympathies reach , like the rays of heaven , every nation and clime . Does not the

contemplation of this truth expand tlie mind , and fill it with enlarged views of thc mission of humanity ? Arc not the tics which bind a Mason to his fellow , types of that

ideal Commonwealth where brotherhood and peace shall ever reign ? Yet we would not detract one iota from the credit , thc honour , which is due to those eminent

brethren for persevering in the paths of Freemasonry . The allurements of wealth , the fascinations of power openly exercised

over large communities , are sufficient to attract many of our titled Masons from active usefulness in thc cause of the Craft . But noblemen like Lord Dalhousie never

The Earl Of Dalhousie And The Scottish Craft.

retreat—for long years he has worked in our midst , both as Deputy Grand Master of England , and in the more exalted position of Grand Master Mason of the sister

country . His retirement from his high post is also , be it said emphatically , neither a sign of weariness nor dissatisfaction . He leaves the Scottish hiram in the hands of

one who possesses personal as well as traditional claims to that important trust . More than one hundred and thirty years have passed away since a St . Clair wielded

supreme Masonicpower in Scotland ; but the spell has been broken , and we hail the event as a favourable augury of Lord Rosslyn ' s successful and prosperous rule . With the last St .

Clair the system of hereditary government terminated ; with the present scion of that illustrious house we see the elective principle not only vindicated , but triumphant .

Lord Dalhousie descends from the throne of Scottish Masonry because he feels that no man , however able , should monopolise the honours of the Craft ; and Lord Rosslyn

accepts the position in thorough sympathy with his predecessor ' s views . This happy concord promises a brilliant future for Scottish Masonry ; and although it may

seem ungracious to temper praise with blame , let us impress upon our North British brethren the necessity of elevating the standard of individual lodges to the

excellent stand-point thus exhibited by the leaders of the Order . Re-elections of Masters , year after year , are , we hold , a fatal mistake in the interior economy of the

Craft ; and it is undeniable that such a procedure not only tends to deaden emulation , but to foster envy and distrust , The lodge becomes a stagnant pool ,

unfed by those fresh rivulets which should at once enliven and purify its stream . Let every man see the fair reward of his labour before him , however remote it may at first

appear , and there will be greater anxiety evinced in the promotion of Masonic objects . Our Scottish brethren ought to have schools

for the children of both sexes , and an asylum for the aged and infirm . There is no valid reason why these desiderata should not be attained , and we trust that at least a

commencement will be made under thc rule of thc Earl of Rosslyn . We should prefer to read of a great gathering of Masons around the foundation-stone of a Masonic

institution than of all their recent grand doings and processions at other public displays ; and we know that thc Craft in England are beginning to look for some such evidence of

the reality of Scottish Freemasonry . From Lord Dalhousie nothing but wise and just counsel may be expected , and his successor is , wc hear , likely to follow in his footsteps .

With their assistance , therefore , we indulge the sanguine hope of seeing a peaceful revolution accomplished within the sphere of the Grand Lodge of Scotland , by the

establishment of similar institutions of charity to those now so admirably conducted in the southern part of thc kingdom ; and we need

only add that whatever feeble aid we can extend in support of such a praiseworthy undertaking will be most readily and cheerfully afforded .