Freemasonry & Israelitism.

tion to almost all the nations of the earth , as well as to the Jewish people , that have been already fulfilled , those who believe in the sworn word of prophecy will accept this word touching the condition of Israel

during her dispersion as surely as they would any well-attested history which might claim their acceptance . Let us , then , refer to a few passages in the writings of two or three only of the prophets . Hosea ,

predicting the impending punishment of Israel by certain symbolic actions , which the Lord enjoined him to adopt , says (" calling things that are not as though they were" ) , " Ye are not my people , and I will not be your God . .

. . Yet , it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them , Ye are not my people , there it shall be said unto them , Ye are the sons of the living God . . . And they shall say , Thou art my God . " ( Hos . i . 9 , 10 ;

ii . 23 . ) And plainer still : " They ( Israel ) shall no more be remembered by their name ( ii . 17 ) . And they shall wander from sea to sea , and from the north even to the east ; they shall rim to and fro , to seek the word of the Lord , and

shall not find it" ( Amos viii . 12 ) . "The children of Israel shall abide many days without a king , and without a prince , and without a sacrifice , and without a pillar ( as a witness to the Lord , see Isa . xix . 19 , 20 ) , and without an

ephod and teraphim " ( Hos . 111 . 4 ) . " Because thou has rejected knowledge , I will also leject thee , that thou shalt be no priest to me ; seeing thou has forgotten the law of thy God , I also will forget thy children " ( Hos . iv . 6 ) . " Because

Ephraim hath made many altars to sin , altars shall be unto him to sin" ( Hos . viii . 2 ) . " They sin more and more , and have made them molten images of their silver , and idols , according to their own understanding ; all of it the work of

the craftsmen" ( Hos . xiii 2 ) . "Ephraim , he hath mixed himself among the people" ( Hos . vii . 8 ) . " Israel is swallowed up : now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure" ( Hos . viii . 8 ) . "And I will

bring the blind by a way that they knew not ; I will lead them in paths that they have not known .... They shall be turned back , they shall be greatly ashamed that trust in

graven images , that say to the molten images , Ye are our gods . Hear , ye deaf ; and look , ye blind , that ye may see . Who is blind but my servant , or deaf as my messenger that I sent ?" ( Isaiah , xlii 16-19 . )

There are several things , beyond mere punishment , included in these denunciations —( 1 ) Israel is to lose the law— " The word of the

Lord —that is , to forget or not to observe it . ( 2 . ) Abandoning the law , Israel is to be given up to idolatry—to be " joined to idols . " ( 3 . ) Israel is to be mixed with the people—" swallowed up amongst the Gentiles "—that is , is not to be distinguished from them , so that they

who were once called , " My people , are not then to be so called . If the passages I have quoted mean anything , they mean these things , as things that were to hefal Israel , under the judgment that was then impending , in consequence of their incorrigible perverseness , and the adandonment of their covenant God .

But this absorption of other peoples by Israel , and their absorption by other peoples , so as not to be , for some time , distinguished from them , have their parallel in Judah , or the Jews . The earliest Christians were of Judah . All the

Apostles were of Galilee , and the first converts were men of Galilee , and their numbers were first augmented by Jews , devout men , out of every nation under heaven , with some of Judca and Jerusalem ( Acts hi . ) . And these went forth

everywhere , and became so mixed with the Gentiles that their descendants , after a few generations , became undistinguishable . But long before this , there were amalgamations with other races , even with some of those with whom they were forbidden to unite . Many of the

Jews , during their dispersion in the Babylonian captivity , united themselves with the peoples inhabiting those countries , and thus lost their individuality ^; some becoming Mahommedans , and some , like their brethren of Israel , adopting the idolatrous practices of the peoples amongst

Freemasonry & Israelitism.

whom they settled . On the other hand , after their return to Judea , John Hyrcanus , having conquered the Edomites—or Idomeans—gave them their choice , either to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses , 01 to leave the country .

They chose the former , and became one people with the Jews , the name of Edomite being lost in that of Jew . Nor should we omit to notice , that Ruth , a Moabitess , was married to Boaz , the great-grandfather of David . About forty

years before the Christian era , Phasael , one of the sons of Antipater , an Edomite or Idomean , became governor of Jerusalem , while his second son , Herod , after having been made governor of Galilee , was made king of the Jews , by the

Romans , and rebuilt , or partly rebuilt and beautified , the temple of Jerusalem , and was succeeded by his son , after whose reign of ten years , Judea became a Roman province But it was not with the Edomites , only , but with

Canaanites , that the Jews became intermingled —the two becoming one people , David having permitted the Jebusites , one branch of the Canaattes , to remain in Jerusalem , where were both the throne and the temple ; so that , as

Ezekiel says of Judah ( xvl . 3 ) : " Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan : thy father was an Amorite , and thy mother a Hittite . " These facts are not produced to disparage the Jews , but simply to show that Israel , in becoming

mixed and united with the Gentiles , is only upon a par with Judah , who also mixed with them and absorbed them . But of both a remnant remains : " Yet will I leave a remnant , that ye may have some that shall escape the sword

among the nations , when ye shall be scattered through the countries . And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations , whither ye shall be carried captives . . . .

and they shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations . And they shall know that I am the Lord , aud I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them " ( Ezek . vi . 6-10 ) .

I submit , then , that there is nothing in the two circumstances we have been considering that militates against the assumption—I say assumption , because as yet I have suggested nothing beyond probabilities , though

probabilities which are , I think , very striking—that the Getas of Moesia and Dacia were the people of the ten tribes , who were carried by the Assyrians into Upper Media , and the countries between the Caspian Sea and the Euxinc , and who

thence pursued a westward course , along the shores of the latter sea , peopling with Germany and the Cimbrian Chersonesus , and who , under the name of Goths , overran the western Roman empire , and the great branch of whom are now

known as Anglo-baxons . I he absolute proofs of that fact have yet to be adduced , and though strong and conclusive , as I believe them to be , I have thought it right , at this stage of the enquiry , to advert to such circumstances as tend to prepare the way for them .

Red Cross Of Constantine.

RED CROSS OF CONSTANTINE .

MANCHESTER . —The Palatine Conclave , No . 50 , will be consecrated at Freemasons' Hall , Cooperstreet , on Saturday , the 29 th inst . The Illustrious Intendant-General for South Lancashire , Sir Knight W . Romainc Callcnder , jun ., is expected to attend .

The " Red Rose" Conclave , No . 59 , has been opened at Columbia , Lancaster County , Pennsylvania , and the "Rose of Sharon" Conclave , N 0 . 60 , at Rouscville , Venango County , in the same State , under authority from M . E . Sir Kt . Alfred Crcigh , LL . D ., Chief Intendant-General U . S . A .

The Rt . Hon . the Earl of Bcctivc has conferred the rank of Intendant-General , unattached , upon Sir Knights the Hon . Judge Gibbs , Andrew Hay , and E . Tyrrell Leith , of Bombay .

WE regret to learn that Bro . C . Smith , of the Vitruvian Lodge , No . 87 , who has contributed to this journal several articles on Adoptive Masonry , has lately been suffering from severe indisposition . A PROVINCIAL Grand Mark Lodge will beholden in the Masonic Hall , St . John ' s Place , Halifax , at 2 p . m . on Wednesday , August 2 nd , 1871 , under the auspices of the Fearnley Lodge , No . 58 .

Grand Masonic Ceremonies At Albany.

GRAND MASONIC CEREMONIES AT ALBANY .

[ FROM OUR OWN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT . ] The laying of the corner-stone of the new Capitol building at Albany , the metropolis of New York State has this day ( June 24 th , 1871 ) been performed , with due Masonic honours by the Grand Lodge of New York .

Your correspondent , by the kindness of an influential friend , was placed within a yard or two of the Grand Master , and consequently had an excellent opportunity of viewing the proceedings . From an early hour this morning it rained in torrents at Albany , and hence the spectacle was far

inferior to what it would have been under more favourable circumstances . During the whole of the affair the rain came down incessantly , and the Albany Journal records the Masonic joke of the day when it says that " the different lodges put to one another this question : How could we have

expected dry weather in which to lay the cornerstone , when the Grand Marshal was a Waterman ? " Bro . Waterman certainly had a day after his own name , though not after his own heart , on which to perform his duties . The Knights Templar , and the "B * Iue" and

"Red" craftsmen , turned out in great force . Most of the commanderies , as encampments are called here , were headed with a band of music , and dressed in a uniform of a strictly military character they had a fine soldierly appearance . The fulldress uniform appears to be a cocked hat (

something like an English general's ) , with a feather in it ; a coat of blue , with silver buttons stamped with the cross of the Order , a belt and sword . Many of the Templars , however , wore an undress cap , which , to our mind , looked far handsomer than the cocked hat . The officers of the commanderies wore gold

lace and epaulettes , and lead their men like military companies . The various chapters and lodges did not turn out in very grand regalia , perhaps owing to the weather . The companions and brethren mostly wore the cotton "Apprentice ' s "

apron , and we may mention that in lodges over here the Master Mason ' s apron is seldom worn , except by officials . The Grand Lodge officers were of course more extensively " got up , " but the display of ornaments by the Craft Masons was nothing like what would have been seen in England on such an

. After His Excellencyjohn T . Hoffman , Governor of New York State , had discharged his portion of the duties of the day in first-rate style , the Masonic ceremonies concluded the celebration . The Governor having finished his address , and the Most

Worshipful John H . Anthon , Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York being in his place , the following order was observed : — The Hon . Hamilton Harris , President of the New Capitol Commission , addressed the Grand Master , ending with the formula : It seemed most

fitting that your Ancient and Honourable Fraternity should be invited to perform the ceremony of laying the corner-stone of the new Capitol of the State of New York , and this I now invite you to do with the usual forms of Masonry . Grand Master : From time immemorial it has

been the custom of the Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons to lay , when requested so to do , with their ancient forms , the corner-stone of buildings erected for the worship of God , for charitable objects , or for the purposes of the administration of justice and free

government , and of no other building . This cornerstone , therefore , we may lay in accordance with our law , and gladly do so , testifying thereby our obedience to the law and our desire to show publicly our respect for the government underwhich we live .

The Grand Master then called up the lodge , remarking : The first duty of Masons in any undertaking is to invoke the blessing of the Great Architect upon their work . Let us pray . Senior Grand Chaplain Schoonmaker , of Sing Sing , then offered the following prayer : — " O most

glorious and eternal God , Great Architect of the Universe , Whomakest all things by Thy power , and adornest all things by Thy bounty , and fillest all things with Thy goodness , and sanctifieth the heart and gifts of Thy servants , Who in the days of old didst graciously accept the house which our Grand

Master King Solomon erected to Thy glory ! we praise Thee and bless Thee that Thou hast thus far prospered the handiwork of us , Thy servants , who are this day met together in Thy fear and love to lay the corner-stone of this building , dedicated to Thy service as the place of assembly of a

Government which Thou hast blessed with freedom . We humbly pray Thee that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to sanctify this house by the outpouring of Thy holiness from on high . Let the sun of righteousness ever shine here , and the bright illumination of Thy grace . That which we dedicate , do Thou