Foreign And Colonial Agents.

Foreign and Colonial Agents .

—•—AMERICA : Bro . J . FLETCHER BRENNAN , I 14 , Mainstreet , Cincinnati , Ohio . ,, Messrs . WOODRUFF & BLOCKER , Little

Rock , Arkansas , U . S . CANADA .- Messrs . DEVRIE & SON , Ottawa . CAPE OF GOOD HOPE : Bro . GEORGE BRITTAIN , Cape Town . CEYLON : Messrs . W . L . SKEENE & Co ., Colombo . CONSTANTINOPLE : Br . J . L . HANLY , Levant Times .

EAST INDIES : Allahabad : Messrs . WYMAN BROS . Bombay : Bro . M . B . COHEN . Byculla : Bro . GEO . BEASE . Central Provinces : Bro . F . J . J ORDAN . Kurrachce : Bro . G . C . BRAYSON . Madras : Mr . CALEB FOSTER .

Mhcnv : Bro . COWASJEE NUSSERWANJF . E . Poona : Bro . W . WELLIS . GALATA : IrsiCK KHAN , Perche-Bajar . LIBERIA -. Bro . HENRY D . BROWN , Monrovia . PARIS : M . DECIIF . VAUX-DUMESNIL , Rue de

Harlaydu-Palais , 20 , near the Pont Neuf ; Editor Le Franc-Macon . WEST INDIES : Bro . J A . D . SOUZA , Falmouth , Jamaica . And all Booksellers and Newsagents in England , Ireland , and Scotland .

Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

—*—BIRTH . MCGREGOR . —On the 9 th inst ., at Edward-street , Tralee , the wife of Bro . David McGregor , W . M . Lodge 379 , Tralee , of a son .

DEA PH . SHERRY . —On the 14 th inst ., at Southampton , aged 37 , Bro . Henry Gower Sherry , Lodge of Economy , No . 76 , Winchester , and son of Bro . Charles Sherry , the fathei of the lodge .

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All communications for THE FREEMASON should be written legibly , on one side of the paper only , and , if intended for insertion in the current number must he received not later than 10 o ' clock a . in . on Thursdays , unless in ver / special cases . The name and address of every writer must be sent to us in confidence .

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TheFreemason, SATURDAY , MARCH 19 , 1870 .

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THE FREEMASON is published on Saturday Mornings in lime for the early trains . The price of THE FREEMASON is Twopence per week ; quarterly lubscription ( including postage ) 3 s . 3 d . Annual Subscription , us . Subscriptions payable in advance . All communications , letters , & c , to be addressed to the EDITOR , a , 3 , and 4 , Little Britain , E . C . The Editor uill pay careful attention to all MSS . entrusted to him , bnt cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied hy postage stamps .

Masons & Anti-Masons.

MASONS & ANTI-MASONS .

THE loftiest oaks arc most exposed to the storm ; the proudest positions in life are most pervious to the assaults of envy and malice . And if this be true , as a rule ,

in the material operations of nature , and in the existence of individuals , it may be readily traced in the history of religions , philosophies , and political systems .

Every form of belief has been assailed with the sharpest weapons of criticismevery metaphysical dogma has been questioned and opposed—every theory of civil policy has met with deadly foes .

It need not surprise us , under these circumstances , to find that an institution like Freemasonry should be received with dislike and antagonism by a section of the

community . Some fancy that it interferes with their cherished religious opinionsothers that it circumscribes their ideas and actions within the limited sphere of the

Fraternity—while others imagine that it is a frivolous amusement in which sensible men can take no pleasure . Of late years

considerable attention appears to have been diverted to the subject of the real antiquity of the Craft , and recently our inter-

Masons & Anti-Masons.

esting contemporary Notes and Queries has had several communications from contributors upon this head . Indeed , one

personage—whose name it is unnecessary to introduce here—has become quite rabid in his attacks upon Freemasonry . He denies its claims to veneration on the score

of age , and asserts that the Gormogons were more ancient , and quite as respectable as the Freemasons , although he holds that both indulged in silly and absurd ceremonies .

We confess that our knowledge of the Gormogons is extremely limited—we believe that they practised some absurd rites as a preliminary to conviviality , and

possibly excess , but the extraordinary part of the foolish writer ' s comparison is that he likens an Order which has spread over the four quarters of the globe to a society

which never emerged from the city of its birth , and whose very name is now merely a peg upon which so-called antiquarians would fain hang their speculations . Surely

such reasoning is most inconsequent and illogical . No greater compliment can be paid to the Masonic Institution , than to show that it has survived all the

Gormogons , the Gregorians , the Jerusalem Sols , and other spurious imitations of our Order which flourished for a brief space

during the past century . These associations had , we will grant , the same chance of success as Freemasonry—where are they now ? Buried for ever in the dust of

oblivion—and why ? Because their principles were ephemeral , and their practices merely festive and social . Freemasonry , whether it be really of Jewish origin , or a

development of the operative sodalities of the middle ages , posseses in its laws , its precepts , and its results , an infinite capacity for good ; it is in harmony with all the

nobler impulses of our being—it is , so to speak , a similitude of that more perfect state of humanity for which all earnest

thinkers yearn and strive . Such an institution needs no defenders in a free country , and we must therefore condemn those

wellmeaning brethren who enter the lists to do battle with its profane opponents , especially in the columns of a secular

newspaper . Our ancient regulations teach us that wc are not to engage in controversy with

the uninitiated world upon the merits or demerits of the Craft , and experience shows that little advantage is to be derived from pursuing an opposite course .

It is , besides , a proof of great presumption on the part of these self-appointed advocates , who in all probability lack in essential particulars the qualifications for

a victorious encounter with the foe . The Craft will not have any more of this dilletante'championship , and we therefore advise our friends to withdraw at once from the

controversy which lias arisen in the pages of our contemporary . Freemasonry has outlived more serious menaces , and a body

which can defy the once omnipotent power of Rome need not fear the paper pellets of an obscure scribbler .

Masons & Anti-Masons.

Let it be remembered , that in America our brethren have had to pass through the fiery ordeal of persecution ; that men are still alive who can recollect the anti-Masonic

excitement caused by the disappearance of the infamous Morgan , and that for years the anti-Masons assumed a distinctive name , and fought bitterly against the very existence of the Craft in the United States .

Can a better commentary upon their mad and miserable efforts be made , than to point to the unparalleled position which the Masonic Order now holds in America

For one temple of Freemasonry that existed in the great Republic in 1825 , there are now twenty , for every Mason there are now a hundred , and persecution and obloquy

not only signally failed to destroy the immortal fabric of the Craft , but have tended to consolidate and strengthen the power of the Order in the hearts of mankind .

Let the heathen rage ; our trust is not in our ceremonies—beautiful , sublime as they are—it is the principles of Freemasonry in which we glory , and they are pinnacled

high above the clouds and storms of time . Let us ever march onwards in this spirit , regarding neither the slaves of superstition on the one hand , nor the children of foolish

envy on the other . Our mission is to do good upon earth , and every son of Adam will be welcomed into our fraternal circle if he obeys the divine behest , "Ask , and ye

shall find ; knock , and it shall be opened unto you . " But we have no desire to drag reluctant votaries to our altars ; they must

come of their own free will and accord , and if any man chooses another path , it is no part of our creed to revile or persecute him .

We can therefore safely leave the insufferable folly , not to say insolence , of those who ignorantly deride our institution to the calm and impartial verdict of public opinion ,

premising that it is but a shallow evidence of learning and research in any individual to confound Freemasonry—under whose

canopy men of every nation work and teach—with those mushroom societies of tavern wits , the Gregorians or Gormogons ofthe eighteenth century .

Orders Of Chivalry.

ORDERS OF CHIVALRY .

KNIGHTS TEMPLAR . LIVERPOOL . —EucamM'culofJaci / ucs de Molay . —lht regular meeting of this encampment was held on Friday , the nth March , at the Masonic Temple , Hope-street , for the installation of E . C . The ceremony was most ahly performed by Sir Knight Pierpoint , in the presence of a

large number of P . E . C . ' s , including Sir Knights Wright , D . P . G . C . of Lancashire ; Banister , 32 , P . G . S . B . of England ; Alpass , Prov . G . Sec . West Lancashire ; & c . The new E . G ., Sir Knight J . II . Younghusband then appointed his officers as follows -. —While , Prelate ; Bullcr , 1 st Captain ; Long , 2 nd Captain ; Mott , Registrar ;

Deeley , Almoner ; Johnson , Expert ; Poole , 1 st Standard Bearer ; Irvine , 2 nd Standard Bearer ; Sice , Capt . Lines ; De le Pereille , 1 st Herald ; Cunningham , 2 nd Herald . The encampment having been closed with solemn prayer , the Knights adjourned to Bro . Eberle ' s , Royal Hotel , Dale-street , and there partook of the bread of plenty and cup of cheerfulness .

Instruction.

INSTRUCTION .

The Domatic Chapter at their next meeting will be asked for their consent to the Chapter of Instruction being re-opened at Bro . Fisher ' s Restaurant , Victoria Station , Pimlico , early next month , when it is intended to work

lhe ceremony of consecration , and a very prosperous future is augured for the chapter , as there are many local companions whohavc intimated their intention of becoming members . The Fifteen Sections will be worked at ( lie Peckham Lodge of Instruction Maismore Anns , Park-road , Peckham , on lhe first Wednesday in April .