Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

Multum in Parbo , or Masonic Notes and Queries .

—?—I , for one , thoroughl y endorse the comments of our esteemed Bro . Hughan upon the evil doings in certain lodges on the Continent English brethren have no conception of the

••' fantastic tricks " they play , or of the scandalous doctrines with which they seek to identify Freemasonry . It is time that some notice were taken of such flagrant violations of the ancient and fundamental laws of tbe Craft . VIATOR .

It is a matter for congratulation that the " unrecognised degrees" are going to amalgamate , they may then be able to lay down fixed rules for admission into each degree or order ,

rules to be equally binding on all . It will be , as stated in THE F REEMASON last week , a stroke of true policy if this alliance can be effected . ALPHA , 30 ° .

•f CIPES AND FRIENDLY SOCIETIES . I notice a letter from "Cipcs" respecting some noted Friendly Societies . Not having had time to examine into the merits of the late discussion between him and a writer styling

himself " Res 11011 Verba , ' I do not write now to offer any opinion on the subject •I simpl y desire to express my surprise at the concluding statement in the letter by "Cip ' es" ( page 2 Gl . ) He states that the •' Odd Fellows , Ilochabites ,

Foresters , Good Templars , & c , are illegal because they require an oath of secrecy from their members ; but for this they would be legal . " I speak as an " Odd Fellow , " and most emphatically deny the statement of " Cipes . " We take no

" oaths " whatever , either at initiation or during the subsequent degrees •neither do the Rechabites , Foresters , ortheGood Templars . Thatbeing the case according to the position laid down b y

" Cipes , " these societies are , legal . I beg to draw tho attention of "Res non Verba" and " Cipes " to this view , and hope the latter will take the earliest opportunity of acknowledging his error . WILLIAM JAMES HUGHAN .

BRO . " LEO AND THE SCOTTISH TEMPLARS ( p . 2 G 3 ) . Adopting the same argument as Bro . " Leo , " any ono who is not a Freemason at all could easily post himself up upon , and become acquainted witli all its workings , and be able to

discuss the whole subject as well as those that have been admitted into the Order for years . I deny this , and am ready to dispose of any man who may have " Less " notions , and dispel his fancy . I repeat , the Order of Knights

Templar , as practised m Scotland , is not a Masonic degree . It may possibly owe its revival and present existence to Freemasons , but from the fact that a few cannot be admitted , clearl y

and distinctly proves it to be not Masonic . I can easily give the names of those admitted as members into the Order who were not Freemasons , but see no reason why their names should bo paraded . CIPES .

BRO . " LEO , AND THB MAIMED , ETC . ( p . 263 ) . Bro . " Leo" seems to disputo the very first principle adopted b y Masoii 3 , whether operative or speculative or combined , when , he says , " a Speculative Mason may be able to do nil his

needful work with a good head and a good heart . " I deny this ; they are unable to uphold tho recognised modes of recognition , and although they number many , there is only one mode of recognition among Freemasons over the

world , in which tho one can know the other iu the li ght as well as in the dark . For the maimed to recognise a Freemason in tho dark ia impossible . The modes of recognition admit of no variation , but are the same in all countries where Freemasonry is practised . CIPES .

BRO . W . J . HUGHAN , BltO . " LEO , " AMD THE LANDMARKS . In an admirable and honourable intention to uphold the Order iu its entirety and purity , Bro . Hughan alludes to the " landmarks of the

Multum In Parbo, Or Masonic Notes And Queries.

Craft for centuries , " while Bro .. " Leo " tells us , a few lines further on , that " we have no landmarks in Speculative Freemasonry older than 1717 . " Perhaps Bro . W . J . Hughan wouldkindly for the good of the Craft settle this with Bro . "Leo . " CIPES .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

[ The Editor is not responsible for the opinions expressed b y Correspondents . ] FREEMASONRY AND THE LAWS OF THE

LAND . ( To the Editor of lha Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER . —I have inadvertently attributed to "Cipes" the expression "Christian Order" as applied to Freemasonry , which occurs in the report of a meeting of the Mount Calvary

Chapter , A . and A . Rite . I can scarcely say how the mistake happened , but as I made the blunder I crave his forgivness . The object of my former communication was to find fault with the sectarian principle the above words implied , and not as ¦•Cipes " supposes with his

essay on " Freemasonry and the Laws of the Land , " which I read , us I do most of his writings with interest and pleasure . Neither is ho quite correct hi his surmise that I had " rushed into print without a due consideration of tho subject , " for even a superficial observer cannot fail to perceive the desire which

exists amongst the most intelligent and influential members of the Craft , to Christianize , that is to scctarianize , Freemasonry . The Masonic Press shows the same tendency ; read the paragraph headed " Love " in the last number of THE FREEMASON . I am pleased to find that my antagonism to

" Cipes " was only imaginary , and that I do not fight against , but with him under tlie same banner . As bearing upon the same question , I would ask , can " Cipes " or any other brother inform me firstly whether a Jew , Mahometan , or Pnrsee , may

conscientiously enter the ranks of what are ( as I think erroneously ) termed theliigher degrees of Freemasonry ? and secondly , is there anything beyond the Royal Arch entitled to be considered as part of the "Ancient and Honourable Order of Free and Accepted Masons ? Yours fraternally , E . GOTTHEIL .

"E.A." And The Bye-Laws.

"E . A . " AND THE BYE-LAWS .

( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) SIR , —I much doubt if tho Bye-law quoted by E . A . in your last number , with reference to the exclusion of a member who neglects to pay his subscription , is in accordance with the Constitutions . Tho method of ilualinir with such members has

always been adifhculty , but the Book of Constitutions seems to leave no alternative to tho course clearly prescribed , page 65 , and much trouble has , in my experience , arisen from a deviation from the strict letter of the law . I should recommend your correspondent to submit the Bye-law in question to our worthy Grand Secretary , for his opinion on its legality . Yours fraternally , P . M .

Disgraceful Intolerance

DISGRACEFUL INTOLERANCE

( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , —I enclose the following clipping from last week's newspaper : — " Nineteen studentsofthc Wesleyan University at Mount Pleasant , Iowa , have petitioned for the removal of a coloured student from their class . "

Anything more intolerant could hardly bo conceived ; because the skin of one of the students happens to be darker than that of his fellows , he is therefore to be excluded / We wonder if he was the best scholar in the class ? If the " cat-o ' -niiic-tails " had ever a duty to perforin , it has it now in claiming acquaintance

with the backs of these " Nineteen Students . " We further ask , will thcro be separate classes in heaven , so that these wliitc-skitmed VVesleyaus may not be contaminated by being forced to intermix with '' coloured " saints ? Or I , ask , will there be separated parlours in hell for classifying the differentl y " coloured" inmates ? If tho latter , these "Nineteen Students "

have a had chance ( unless they " turn over a new leaf" ) of getting an extra shovelful or two of coals placed under their hot-plate . However , be that as it may , if there was any " removal" took place upon this " petition " we trust that the subjects of it were the aforesaid " Nineteen Students . " I am , yours fraternally , LEO .

BRO . FINCH , P . M . ( 217 ) . ( To the Editor of The Freemason . ) SIR , —In your hist week ' s impression Bro . Finch , P . M . ( 217 ) , at a meeting of the Lod ^ e Temperance in tho East , is reported to have invited the brethren

Disgraceful Intolerance

from the newly-initiated to the officers , even up to the Installing Officer , to apply to him when in doubt , and he would give them the correct working . There surely must be some error in this . Bro . Finch , I should hope , would not give utterance to

such presumption aud egotism ; at any rate , if he did I trust it was a lapsus Ungual . I should sincerely hope , however , that it is a mistake ou the part of your reporter misunderstanding the remarks which fell from Bro . Finch .

I write this iu no antagonistic spirit , but simply that such remarks as the above should not pass unchallenged . For the respect in which Bro . Finch is held witness the testimonials lie iias received—gold watch , purse of sovereigns :, diamond ring , & c— aud a

denial on his part , or a correction ou the part of your reporter , would ease the minds of those who never heard such remarks drop from the late Bros . Peter Thompson , Barton Wilson , or our present esteemed preceptor , Henry Muggeridgo . 1 remain fraternally , Your obedient servant , P . M ., 217 .

Ancient And Modern Mysteries.

ANCIENT AND MODERN MYSTERIES .

BY BRO . ROBERT YVE . NTWORTII LITTLK , President of the London Literary Union , Editor of " The Rosicrucian , " & c . ( Continued from page 2 G 3 . )

Since writing th . few remarks on the Collegia Artificum which appeared in last week ' s FREEMASON , I have seen in the Philadelphia "Keystone "—a very valuable organ of the Craft in America—an article from the facile pen of Bro . Albert G . Mackuy , upon the same subject , which is so interesting that I gladly

avail myself of the opportunity of reproducing it for the benefit of your readers . Dr . Hai * ke \ , is , I need hardly observe , a great stickler for the truth of Masonic traditions , and his ••Lexicon , " though not at all times reliable , contains much information of an instructive character : —

" It was , I think , the German writers on the history of the institution , such as Krause , Heldmanit and some others of less repute , who first discovered , or at least first announced to the world , the connection that existed between the Roman Colleges of Architects and the Society of Freemasons .

" The theory of Krause on this subject is to be found principally in his well-known work , entitled , Die drei altesten Kunstur / cunden der Freimaurer Bruderschaft , or 'The three oldest professional documents of the Brotherhood of Freemasons . ' This work is very elaborate , for the subject

is pursued with all that microscopic tenuity of enquiry so peculiar to the modes of Teutonic thinking , so that scarcely anything is left in the field to reward the investigations of subsequent g leaners . " But while it may be difficult to add to the facts which this German antiquary has so industriously

amassed , there is abundant room for discussion of the theory which he has advanced . We may admit the authenticity of his historical statements , but we may have good reason to deny or to doubt the correctness of the conclusions to which he has arrived . " His theory is , that Freemasonry as it now exists ,

is indebted for all its characteristics , religious and social , political and professional , its interior organization , its modes of thought and action , and its very design and object , to the Collegia Artificum of the Romans , passing with but little characteristic changes through the C ' orporationen von Baukunstlerti or 'Architectural Guilds' of the middle ages up to the

English organization of the year 1717 , so that he claims an almost absolute identity between the Roman Colleges of Numa , seven hundred years before . Christ , and the lodges of the nineteenth century . We need not , according to his view , go any further hack in history , nor look to any other series of events , nor trouble ourselves with any other influences for the origin and the character of Freemasonry .

" 1 propose in the present article to discuss the correctness of this theory , and to discover ii-om the historical data of which we are in possession , what is the true connection between the Masonic institution and the political organizations established under the name of 'Colleges' by the second King of Rome .

" In the prosecution of such a task , the first thing to be done will be to investigate , so far as authentic history affords us the means , the true character and condition of these Roman Colleges . "It is to Numa , the second King of Rome , that historians , following after Plutarch , ascribe the first organization of the Roman Colleges , although as

Neiviiiaii reasonably conjectures , it is probable that similar organizations previously existed among the Albatt population , and embraced the resident Tuscan artificers . But it is admitted that Numa gave to them that form which they always subsequently maintained . ( To be continued . )