The High Grades In Ireland.

THE HIGH GRADES IN IRELAND .

BY HISTORICUS . Bro . William James Hughan deserves the hearty thanks of the Craft for the interesting matter he has brought under our notice in regard to the past history of Freemasonry in Ireland , and your pages will thus afford very important information to the future historian . In this I

am tempted humbly to follow in his footsteps . At the present day there exists many grievances in the Emerald Isle , not the least of which is the oppression of the Masonic press—in all cases of arbitrary proceedings the brethren must sit down , crushed , for there is there no Masonic

public opinion before which they can bring thengrievances . I hope shortly to see the impartial FREEMASON strongly supported in Ireland , and trust to see them as regular correspondents expressing their opinions pro and con . Many of your readers would be wholly

unaware that the constitution of the Irish Grand Lodge is totally opposed to the wholesome English system , which has invariably refused to form any alliance , or give any countenance , to the higher degrees . I conceive that it is to our Grand Lodge views in this respect that

Freemasonry is indebted for its vast tolerance and expansion . At the Union in 1813 the English Grand Lodge went one step too far , ar . d recognised the Arch . It is a great pity that this recognition cannot now be got rid of ; but it would be an evil day for English Freemasonry

if the Grand Lodge was ever allowed to go beyond it . But in Ireland not only does the Grand Lodge form alliance with Mark and Arch Masonry , but Templary , Rose Croix , Kadosh , and the Sovereign Grand Inspectors-Generalwhich latter , I hold , as professing certain powers

under a forged charter of 17 S 6 , are no better than obtainers of money under false pretences . Thus , on the one hand , the Grand Lodge is made the abettors of a dishonourable order , and on the other , the Craft is groaning under a Masonic oligarchy , or Old Man of the Sea , of

the most oppressive and intolerable character , which they are unable to shake off . A system of exclusiveness exists even in this dishonour , offensive and destructive of Masonic equality and true and proper Masonic feeling ; all preferment is not grounded upon real loorlli and

personal merit , but upon landed estates and acquired wealth . Therefore the Craft in Ireland rests upon a volcano which may at any moment burst forth , and lay the stately mansion in ruins . Not only is this a true and accurate statement of affairs in Ireland ; but there are even

grave doubts as to the genuineness of the high grades and the authority of the " Council of Rites , " and it would seem an absolute certainty as to its spurious character . So that wherever we turn our eyes we find no relief , and are led to thank heaven that we practise our Masonry

under the Craft Constitution of England . It is not , however , for us to deal with these matters ; when the grievance becomes intolerable our Irish brethren will rid themselves of it . Bro . Hughan has undertaken chiefly to explain the past history of Craft Masonry in Ireland , so that the present writer mav be permitted to take

up the high grao . es . The present generation were scarcely aware that these degrees were also rent asunder twenty-five years ago by a violent schism . A most interesting pamphlet has recently been forwarded to us from Ireland for publication , and , with your permission , extracts shall be forwarded therefrom IOTHE FREEMASON weekly . The title-page is as follows : —

" A few words upon thc degree of Prince Grand Rose Croix , & . c ., kc , & c , with an account ofthe revival and legitimate transmission of that Order in Ireland from the fourteenth century to thc present time ; also ofthe irregular descent of lhc Council of Rites , from an expelled member ofthe Grand Chapter of Ireland . ' For ye shall know

the truth , and the truth shall make ye free 'John , Sth chap ., 32 nd verse . Dublin : Printed by H . AA . Talbot , Lower Ormond Quay , 1843 . "This tract has been prepared for the use of the Grand Chapter , and of thc several chapters connected therewith or constituted by warrant therefrom ; and also for the information of all Freemasons who may feel interested concerning thc

The High Grades In Ireland.

title , descent , and claims of the Grand Chapter ' and in support of the genuine principles of Masonry in Ireland . " The object of the present compilation is , that every impartial , intelligent , and upright member of the Craft into whose hands this tract may fall may

be made acquainted with the history of the Grand Chapter , with that of thc Chapter of Zimmerman , otherwise called the Council of Rites , and with the nature of the dispute between them—the unexampled forbearance of the Grand Chapter for a length of time ( during which it laboured earnestly for

peace ancl for the restoration of the long-lost harmony of thc higher degrees ) having hitherto left a great proportion of thc Masonic community almost totally unacquainted with thesemattcrs , unpossessed of the particulars or details of more than one side of the question which has of late years been raised

respecting its authority ; and therefore easy to be misled by any misrepresentations , however erroneous ancl unfounded , which may be put forward upon the subject . " In this manner truth has been in a great measure concealed—the Grand Chapter still , from

day to day , and month to month , and year to year , cherishing in silence the declining hope ( of which every trace is now vanished ) that the reign of error and of an unjust monopoly would terminate without a struggle , and that the Council of Rites ( a body and a name unknown to Masonry in any part of the

world till within the last few years , and even now scarce known , save by its unrelenting persecution and universal proscription ofthe most distinguished and ancient chapters of England and Ireland ) would , of its own accord , cease to adopt implicitly the suggestions of a few of its members , whom

chance and their own restless tempers have elevated to an unnatural position of consequence among the Freemasons of Dublin , and whose perpetual schemes of ambition have been pursued with reckless indifference to the concord and prosperity of the Order , to the ancient aud well-defined

principles of its constitution and discipline , and to the preservation of that ineffable bond of social and moral union by which the pure system of universal Masonry has been enabled in all its various orders and degrees to resist the shocks of time , and to survive the wreck of so many human institutions . " ( To be continued . )

Anticipated Visit Of American Knights Templar.

ANTICIPATED VISIT of AMERICAN KNIGHTS TEMPLAR .

For a long time we have been in correspondence with a gentleman in America who has undertaken the responsibility of conducting to Europe a large company of Knights Templar from thc Alleghanies . The proposal was for a party of not less than forty , nor more than sixty , to come under our

arrangements at Queenstown , and to be personally conducted through the best parts of Ireland , Scotland , England , Belgium , tbe Rhine districts , Switzerland , Italy , and return to England via France , the entire tour to occupy seventy-two days from the time of landing at Queenstown to the end of August . AVe

were able to procure for them excellent terms by thc Cunard mail steamers , of the first class , but they selected a new Company , and they are to sail from New York on thc 3 rd June , and are expected to arrive at Queenstown on the 12 th of the same month . As earlv as thc first week in April ,

thirtysix had paid the full amount of fares , & c , and , at least , fifty are expected . Thc Knights Templar constitute one of the highest orders of Masons ; and , although there is no corresponding order in Great Britain—we believe there is one in Palestine—other divisions of the

' •Free and Accepted " are preparing to give them a cordial welcome at Perth and other cities ; and the Earl of . Shrewsbury anti Talbot will give them a reception at Alton Towers . It is arranged that they come in the characteristic costume of the Order , with insignia and decorations ; and we may

fairly anticipate for them thc attentions nnd honours of a sensational party . As many are anxious to know when and where they may be expected , wc subjoin the following itinerary of their tour : — Monday , June 12 , expected to land at Queenstown ; Tuesday 13 , Cork ; AA ' ednesday i 4 , Glengariu ";

Ihursday 15 to Sunday 18 , Killarney ; Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 , Dublin ; Wednesday 21 , lielfitst ; Thursday 22 , Giant ' s Causeway ; Friday 23 , sail at night to Glasgow ; Saturday 24 nnd Sunday 2 ; , Glasgow ; Monday 26 , Glasgow to Oban , by Kyles

of P . ule and Crinan Canal ; Tuesday 27 , Oban to Staffa and Iona and back ; AA ' ednesday 2 S , Oban to Glenco and lianavic ; Thursday 29 , lianavie to Inverness , by Caledonian Canal ; Friday 30 , Inverness to Killiekrankic , Pitlochry , Dunkeld , and Perth ; & c . —Cook's Fxcitrsionist .

THE Earl of Carnarvon presided at thc annual dinner of the Newspaper Press Fund on Saturday last . The attendance wits numerous , and the pecuniary result good .

The Fair Sex And Adoptive Masonry.

THE FAIR SEX AND ADOPTIVE MASONRY .

ARTICLE VI . History has furnished so many illustrations of feminine heroism and devotedness as to admit of no possibility of a doubt of the ability of Avoman to contend against

sudden and unexpected difficulties that may arise in the daily routine of life . These qualities , so essential in times of emergency , excite the Avarmest commendation , and have unmistakeable claims upon the

consideration of all classes of men . Cynical minds may , however , traduce the demeanour of the sex , and may even strengthen their argumentative discourses by exceptional cases , but it nevertheless remains an

unalterable fact that woman is endowed with many virtues of the highest value and importance . Woman in all her counsellings , no matter Avhether these counsellings are received in the stately mansion or

neath the humble roof , manifests such discriminative power as to render the greatest assistance to man in solving the most embarrassingquestions or problems affecting his interest ; and has , furthermore , by her

influence exalted his condition to a degree unattainable by other means . The writer , who has devoted much time to physiological pursuits , has , during his travels in both hemispheres , rarely discovered in the fair

sex any reservation in the exhibition of certain qualities or attributes in the hour of tribulation , viz . : a resolute bearing , a meek and zealous regard to administer to the comforts of others , and a firm and conscientious reliance on the beneficence ofthe

Supreme Governor of the Universe . How often have these graces Avon the silent admiration of man ! In sickness or in health , in influence or in poverty—who has not experienced solace and delight from a

communion with womans gentle nature ? Upon dreary plains , sandy deserts , stormtossed waves , and blood-stained fields , or within or beyond the confines of civilisation , the presence of woman has invariably shed a lustre that has awakened the noblest

susceptibilities of man . An author has said that "if the heart of a man is depressed with cares , the mist is dispelled when a woman appears . " Many will readily accord with the sentiment so cogently expressed .

No one with any pretensions to morality will demean himself by misrepresenting the sex , whose tender sway can but be regarded as the dispensation of an all-wise Providence . Poets have never tired to sing

panegyrics in honour of woman , Avhile tlicologists , philosophers , statesmen , essayists , and others , have , in their writings and speeches , recognised her fame , and have clearly established her title to the goodwill ancl esteem of mankind . A writer thus

estimates woman s gifts : ' Faithful—as dog , the lonely shepherd ' s pride ; True—as thc helm , the bark ' s protecting guide ; Firm—as the shaft that props the towering dome

Sweet—as to shipwreck'd seamen land and home ; Lovely—as a child , the parents' sole delight ; Radiant—as morn , that breaks a stormy night ; Grateful—as streams , that , in some deep recess , with crystal rills the panting traveller bless . "

Can it be questioned that this proposition is illogical or extravagant ? The sophist may discover in it no elegance , but the welldisposed will not be slow in acknowledging its legitimacy . The subject of woman ' s

worth possesses , undoubtedly , such peculiar charms and interest as will ever excite the plea ^ antcst feelings and memories of the sage , the man of letters , and every one who has gratitude and regard for the infinite wisdom of the Creator .