Masonic Calumny,

MASONIC CALUMNY ,

What a burlesque on every profession and axiom of Freemasonry , is the fact , that Masons are calumnious , and that Masonic calumny exists ? Is it not ? To realise that we , who profess to uphold a brother ' s character in his absence , as we would in his presence , that we ,

who declare brotherly love the foundation on which Freemasonry rests , should slander one another , is as ridiculous as it is regrettable . Whence comes this increasing weakness of Freemasonry ? Whence springs this odious evi dence of the littleness or bitterness ofthe human

mind ? We fear there is but one reply , " Nous sommestous moitels , * ' and until we " shuffle off this mortal coil , " amid every turn of the road , and through every catastrophe of humanity we still shall remain the same vacillating or perverse beings , as our fathers have been before us ,

and as our children will be after us . There seems to be inherent in us all , a distrust , a jealousy of our brethren , of our neighbours , in the world , whether as comrades or companions , whether as fellow citizens or fellow labourers here , whether in business or in

pleasure , m toil or trouble , m joy or sorrow , in life or death . But why this tendency to calumny , and to impute bad motives , to make false charges ' All we can say , so it is , and such seems positively to be the normal condition of the human race ! But then , remarks our

enthusiastic Bro . Puddleton— " we are Freemasons , we are above such littlenesses aud weaknesses , and evil tendencies ; we are to shine as li ghts of the world , " we are to be fraternal , while others are uncharitable , and considerate when others are cold . Far from us , the unfeeling or

cynical question , " Am I my brother ' s keeper ? " " We knownothing ofthe impassible emotions of heartless indifferences . No ! Freemasonry teaches us all kindlier sympathies , a gentler and a better lore . " Now my dear and enthusiastic brother , yours is an amiable but harmless

delusion . Freemasons may talk a great deal in the high moral tone , or in the low falutin style , but their deeds are those of the great crowd of careless and bustling mortals , just like those whom they often term " profanes . " " Is , then , there nothing in Freemasonry ? " asks Bro .

Puddleton , hastily . Amiable confrere , we do not say so , but rather we do assert that " exceptio probat regulum . " Freemasonry is unchanging alike in its mission of good and its aspirations of benevolence , though Freemasons sometimes overlook the former and neglect the latter . We are now writing didactically ,

and we are asserting general principles , without any reference to persons or special manifestations . The truth is , that as ever , we . find here in this , as in everything else of earth , another proof of the old old story , that dogma is one thing and deeds are another thing , that profession goes one way and practice very often the other . We should not therefore be

surprised or disheartened ; we should not wonder or complain , when such a state of things is before us . We should only seek to appreciate more than ever the true , the beautiful , the loving , the good , and allow such better seeds to germinate in our bosoms , and to elevate our longings and

aims . But we can set ourselves sternly against the calumniator and the calumny . Whether in public affairs or private , whether , in the bod y corporate or the individual , we should at once repel the insidious shafts of slander , and orrenly rebuke the slanderer , be lie who he

may . As a general rule calumny is the evidence uf a little mind , of a reckless disposition , of a gnarled heart , of a morbid brain . Calumniators generally are very small men , who seek to rise to notice , on the ruin of a friend ' s , or neighbour ' s , or brother ' s reputation . Let us , as Freemasons .

then , denounce calumny , and give a cold shoulder to calumniators . They are the curse of all earthly society . They will undermine any organization into which they get access . Freemasonry loves truth and honesty , ancl

fairspeaking , and brotherl y kindness ; it indignantly denounces that callous disposition which feels nothing for the annoyance of another , that unscrupulous pen which assails fair fame or honest worth , that " prava imaginatio" which sees the mote in its brother ' s eyes , but forgets the beam

Masonic Calumny,

in its own , and above all that uncharitable and overstrained spirit of calumny which not only without hesitation affirms what is falsa to be true and what is true to be false , but dimly robs another , perhaps a trusting friend , of that good name which is most precious in his eyes , of that reputation which is dearer to him than life itself .

Masonic Libraries.

MASONIC LIBRARIES .

The subject to which Bros . "S . B . E . " and " lleviresco " have recently called our attention is one of great importance . For certain it is , from one cause or another , that our good English Craft , has lent itself , and adapted itself so to say , more to the social than the intellectual side of

Freemasonry . We do not overlook the fact , that many of our Order belong to the hardworking classes of society , and that the lodge gathering is alike a social relaxation and a social necessity for many , who have all the day been toiling and toiling hard , in counting-house , and

office , ^ and study , and chambers . To them the Masonic meeting after needful labour of another kind , becomes an agreeable social reunion , a pleasant and hospitable symposium . But it is undeniable , that our lodges , however flourishing they may be materially , have not kept pace with

the intellectual demands of the era , or even with the requirements of a growing body of Masonic students . The existence of Masonic libraries is an exception : the possession of a Masonic library belongs comparatively to but very few lodges indeed . Our Grand Lodge has no befitting

library , and we are sometimes inclined to think , that until Grand Lodge itself moves in the matter , and wakes up , so to say , from its literary slumber , we cannot expect any very general activity in the brotherhood , in respect of a subject which is not considered needful by some , and is treated

apathetically by more . Still there are among us some few lodges which discern the utility and value of a library , just as there are some few brethren who have all along advocated the creation and conservation of lodge libraries . In the " Freemason " some short time back we called

attention to the subject , though with no response ; and from time to time , during the last 20 years some of our intelligent students have forcibly advocated the institution of Masonic libraries . We , therefore , hail the repetition of the movement by younger brethren , such as " S . B . E . " and

' Reviresco , and we trust that better succes will attend on their praiseworthy efforts and suggestion , that has been the lot of us " old fogies . " We say it , in all sincerity , no greater boon can be conferred on any lodge , if only our brethren will think so , than the erection of a lodge

readingroom and hbrarj , specially set apart for Masonic literature . It is a little odd , though it is a fitting commentary on the prevailing Masonic sentiment on the subject , thru , when our Masonic architects lay down the lines of a new Masonic hall , they never think of a library or reading-room . Why ?

In our humble opinion every lodge which has a proper Masonic Hall ought to have a Masonic reading-room and library attached to it ; and wv will go further and say that we also venture to think that every lodge ought to have , as one of its ofiicers , a librarian and keeper of the archives . One of the results of this want of

interest in the intellectual character of our Order in England has been that as a rule our lodge archives have been utterly neglected . At this moment very few lodges preserve any minutes earlier than the beginning of this century , some even not so early , or if they exist they are stowed

away in inaccessible boxes , or are scattered among the private libraries of descendants of Past Masters and early Secretaries . This should not be so . Onr Bro . W . J . Hughan will confirm our statement when we add that nothing has so increased the difficulties of arriving at a true

history of English Freemasonry as the absence of authentic Anglican lodge records . They probably still exist , but we cannot get at them . Next week we shall call attention to thc purely literary question , on which we have a good deal to say .

I ' o-day we confine ourselves to a hearty welcome of the movement " per se , " hoping that our younger Masons and brethren will come to the rescue , and see their way to the zealous and hearty support , both of a good cause ancl of a very

Masonic Libraries.

needful reform . We invite our readers to consider the facts which we shall seek to put before them next week from a literary pont of viewalone , in respect both of the utility ar . d value of Masonic libraries .

The Girls' School.

THE GIRLS' SCHOOL .

The result of the Special General Court , on the nth inst ., has been , that the report of the Committee is referred to it for reconsideration , and we therefore defer any lemarks until we have the amended and revised report before us . We trust that in the assertion of individual

opinions , or the developement of personal views , the great and real interests at stake may not be forgotten .

The Comparative Cost Of The Boys' School.

THE COMPARATIVE COST OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL .

We defer to next week necessarily , owing to the heavy demands on our space , some more remarks on this very important question . The discussion , as will be seen , is continued this week .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

[ VVe tlo not hold ourselves responsible for , or even as approving cf the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wish , in a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . — -lijs . l

ORDER OF THE TEMPLE . To the Editor nf thc Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — I obseive notices in your issue of the nth inst ., at pages 5 65-6 , that you propose to publish " an official reply by the United Orders of the Temple and Hospital to certain memorials , " which reply , you state , " throws

considerable light upon the compilation and authorship of the new statutes of the Order . " I presume your two paragraphs refer to the same pamphlet , a copy of which I liave received , and in a foot-note to which I observe personal allusion made to myself . I hope I may therefore be excused for addressing you on the subject . Permit me to point out that the pamphlet is not " official , " but ,

on thc contrary , is an anonymous publication , with which the Vice-Chancellor's department ought not to be identified . No official reply to memorials could be given without the sanction of Convent-General or Great Priory , and surely the very strong and uncomplimentary terms to which the good brethren of Dorset arc treated must at once relieve Convent-General and Great Priory from the

imputation that the pamphlet in question is an " official " reply . You will notice that the pamphlet contrasts a memorial of the province of Worcester , of 1863 , with a memorial of the province of Dorset , of 1874 , an interval of eleven years j and it must be at once plain that there is a motive in this proceeding which the language of the

pamphlet does not disclose , and when I consider the fact that the courtesy of a preliminary communication was not accorded to thc Prior of Worcestershire , or to myself , the Sub-Prior , and that any mention of thc 1874 memorial of this province , with which thc contrast , if any , ought to be made , is avoided , I may be excused some doubts whether the motive for publishing this pamphlet is , as it

ought to be , a true and unselfish regard for the interests of thc Order at large . You have , very naturally , concluded that the pamphlet throws light upon the compilation and authorship of the new statutes . 1 , myself , assumed that , thc compiler must have been inspired by the Worcestershire memorial , and had forgotten to acknowledge the circumstance ; but this

is distinctly denied by Vice Chancellor Tinkler ( with whom I have had a correspondence , which I am quite ready to submit to the consideration of thc Order ) , and I have his statement in writing that the Worcestershire memorial of 186 3 had no influence whatever in the framing of thc new statutes ; that he discovered the memorial only in thc early part of the present vcar , and that its

existence had been previously unknown in the chancelleric . I cannot now speak to the precise origin of the memorial , and had , myself , forgotten its existence , although I appear to have appended notes to it ; but 1 have made myself sufficiently acquainted with the facts to learn that the memorial was presented when a committee was deliberating upon new statutes , with a view

to rectify thc extraordinary changes which had been made in thc system prevailing before 1853 . The province of Worcester desired to aid in this , as , 1 venture to say > it has invariably done when the good of the Order could be promoted , and in its desire for uniformity , its memorial of 1863 , which is an echo of the Scottish Statutes , was presented . This memoiial desired thc real

union of thc two Orders " as one , " and as prevailing before 185 . 1 , but in no way affected the question of past rank , and in these respects tlic Worcestershire memorial of 1874 is identical ; the only material difference between thc two being thc question of the title " Masonic . " Many

changes must occur amongst the members of a province in eleven years , and , moreover , there are many rcasr . ns connected with the administration of thc Order which iiave induced their present views on this point ; but that they hold no obstinate or unreasonable opinion on any question which may conduce to thc good of thc Order I