Freemasonry In Spain.

FREEMASONRY IN SPAIN .

BY BRO . H . FXROYD . Continued from p . 353 of No . 59 6 . Spain , the land of the unexpected , has recently witnessed an eventful revolution , which , almost for the first time in her history , has been brought about by the force of public opinion , and not by the cold steel of a military

coterie . The change of Ministry which has just rendered possible a constitutional state of things in Spain has been as unexpected as it has been radical and thorough . " The late Prime Minister , Sefior Canovas de Castillo , seemed never so firmly in possession of the reins of power as at the very moment in which fate had decreed his fall . He felt himself strong enough to

defy any possible combinations that the Dynastic Liberal Party could enter into against him , so long , at any rate , as they did not plot a Pronunciamiento , in the true old lawless style . So little chance indeed did there appear to be ol the downfall of the Canovas Ministry that the Punch of Spain , the Loro , had issued a cartoon on the very eve of the change , which depicted the distinguished chief ot the Dynastic Liberal Party , our Bro . Don Praxedes

Mateo Sagasto , as attempting to climb a greasy pole capped with the effigy of govermental power , whilst Canovas and others of the Ministry of the day enjoyed from below his frantic , but apparently futile , endeavours tc approach the figure at lhe top of the pole . Canovas , however , presumed , once too often , upon the docility of the King , who unexpectedly showed lhat he has a will of his own , and who refused

point blank to give his Royal sanction to certain measures which , if passed , would have conferred upon the Minister a still more assured lease of his already almost dictatorial powers . Trite though the saying has become , yet ever true it is , that " Man proposes , but God disposes , " and in very fact thc G . A . O . T . U . disposed the young and gallant Sovereign of Spain to assert his Royal prerogative to defeat the measures in question . There was then no other honourable course left open for Sefior Canovas de Castillo

but to offer to resign . He therefore tendered the resignation of the ministry in a bod )' , and the resignation was immediately accepted . Then an official was dispatched to summon Sefior Sagasta to the palace , and so sudden was the call that it is said that-our distinguished brother was hurried off to wait upon His Majesty without having had time to replace his watch in his pocket or put on his cravat , which he had taken off when preparing for his afternoon siesta !

We need not say that Don Praxedes M . Sagasta was equal to the occasion ; he immediately accepted the task of forming a Ministry . And thus it has come to pass that our worthy brother , His Excellency Don Praxedes Mateo Sagasta , the Sovereign Grand Commander and-Most Worship ful Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Spain , has become the First Minister of the Crown .

Bro . Grand Master Sagasta is a man of great mental capacity and matured judgment . It is through sheer talent , aided by a resolute will , that he has carved out for himself , step by step , the pathway which has finally landed him at the summit of political power . Truly this is an auspicious year for Freemasonry in Spain ! Two short months ago , and our Spanish brethren were barely tolerated as individuals ,

whilst collectively they were constantly exposed to have their lodges broken open , their paraphernalia confiscated , and their persons , when found in lodge assembled , marched off under escort of gendarmes for incarceration in a felon ' s jail . But now our brethren can meet openly , and practise their rites without let or hindrance from thc law , whilst their Grand Master occupies the distinguished position of Prime Minister of Spain .

Our readers of previous chapters of " Freemasonry in Spain " will , perhaps , remember that we have already given expression to our firm belief lhat the continuance of the monarchy in the person of Don Alphonso Xll . is the thing most to be desired by every true friend of Spain and the Spaniards . Wehave expressed our regret ( vide the Freemason , page 205 , of May the Slh , 1 SS 0 ) that lhe Restoration was not itself accomplished by thc

constitutional Liberals , instead of by Canovas de Castillo and his reactionary partisans . Wc ventured to predict " That King Alp honso himself would be the first to rejoice when the then dominant party could be compelled by public opinion , or by a powerful combination formed by the various political parties of Spain , to rclinguish its grasp , both upon the King and upon the country , in which case Sagasta would most surely be plaped in thc responsible post of

Prime Minister of Spain " —( vide page 205 of No . 5 83 of thc F ~ reemason . ) Our prediction has now been fully realised , and wc venture further to predict that Bro . Prime Minister Sagasta , supported by the dynastic Liberals in general , and by his Frecmasonic brethren in particular , will enable King Alp honso to become a truly constitutional monarch ; and that the Reign of Law and the Rights of a People will have no more earnest defender than in

the person of the brave young monarch who now sits upon thc I hrone of Ferdinand and Isabella , by the right of descent , as thc legitimate King of Spain . We call upon our Spanish Freemasonic brethren to strengthen their young King ' s hands for the arduous task which lays before him of governing his kingdom constitutionally , for who can better aid the good cause of their King and his constitutional Ministry than the rank and file of our

brethren in the peninsula' ! Some of our readers may be inclined to call into question the suitability of our appeal to the loyal patriotism of our Spanish brethren through the medium of the Freemason , seeing that party politics and sectarian religion must never form the theme of Freemasonic discussion . To such wc would say that our counsel and exhortation are strictly non-political , and within the

ancient landmarks of our Order . To counsel " loyalty , " to call upon our brethren " to respect the powers that be , " is enjoined upon us by our own British rules and regulations ; and it cannot be too widely known to ^ our younger Spanish brethren lhat the very foundation upon which British Freemasonry rests is loyalty to the Head of the State , " and the faithful discharge of our civil , as well as social , obligations . " Every initiate who enters our Order is emphatically enjoined fo discountenance every art which may have

a tendency to subvert the peace aud good order of society . He is commanded to render due obedience to the laws of any State which may for a time become a place of residence : and , above all , he is exhorted to render that full allegiance which isdue to the Sovereign uf his native I and . Every Freemason , who is worthy of the name , is the best of citizens and the most loyal of subjects . If only the despots of the world ( past , present , and to come ) could appreciate Freemasonry as it deserves to bc appreciated , they would come to look upon our Order as the most potent of defences against the revolutionary elements of

Freemasonry In Spain.

Godless intransigentalism , instead of closing the doors of their empires and kingdoms against our virtuous Order , with its beneficent influence for good , Our remarks upon this head are general , and are not directed in any special manner at the worthy young King of Spain , whom we , nevertheless , would urge to cherish his Freemasonic subjects as thc very salt of his kingdom , as the leaven with which to leaven the whole mass of his subjects with respect

forthe law , loyalty towards himself , as their constitutional King , and an active desire to faithfull y discharge their civil , as well as their social , obligations . Let His Majesty King Alphonso XII . grant a special charter to Freemasons in Spain , and free them , by his Royal hand , from the disabilities under which they have so long laboured . By such a far-sighted act Don Alphonso will do more to strengthen his own throne and consolidate his

dynasty , than by any other act that he , or his present Liberal Ministers , are capable of performing ; for he will thus secure the loyal gratitude of the most orderly and thoughtful portion of his subjects , and the powerful moral support of Free and Accepted Masons all the world over . Now , in the writer ' s opinion , is the fit and proper time for such an act to be performed—whilst the King ' s Prime Minister continues to be the head of

the Grand Orient of Spain . It is not to be expected that Bro . Sagasta can much longer remain actively at the head of our brethren in the Peninsula . His duties , as Prime Minister , must necessarily result in the substitution of a less pre-occupied brother . Indeed , it has been already decided upon as to who is to take his place as Supreme Grand Commander and Grand Master over tlie brethren belonging to the Grand Orient of Spain . Thc brother

selected is Don Romero Ortis , Governor of the Bank of Spain , who , both on account of the zeal he has ever shown for the Masonic cause , and on account of his well-known public and private virtues , is eminently lit for the responsible position to which , in all probability , he will be immediately called . As a matier of fact , the name of Bro . Romero Ortis has been prominently before Grand Lodge for several months past , his name having been unanimously selected as lhe most suitable successor to Bro . Sagasta whenever thc

auspicious moment should arrive when his King should confer upon him the highest political post in the land . Thc moment , therefore , has now arrived for the change . Upon an early date the installation of Bro . Romero Ortis will probably take place at Madrid , and in the next chapter of our articles on " Freemasonry in Spain " we hope to give an account of this interesting ceremony . ( To be continued . )

Masonic History And Historians.

MASONIC HISTORY AND HISTORIANS .

BV MASONIC STUDENT .

There is a very important " point" to look up , and on which a good deal turns , how the words " Royal Arch " came into use in England . The earliest mention so far discovered is in Fifield Dassigny ' s pamphlet , ( 1744 ) , but I am inclined to think that an earlier mention of the words may vet bc discovered .

It is quite clear , as has been for a long time patent lo all students , that Dermott cannot be credited in his claim to the " Royal Arch . " It is true he mentions for the first time a " prayer " which he says was used in the Royal Arch Chapter at Jerusalem ' , to which he gives a Hebrew name , but Dermott ' s statements are always loose and generally inaccurate , and , therefore , we cannot set much store on them .

The matter now requires a close and careful investigation ; as , however , the words came into use amongst us , they appear to me to be purely English , and not , as I have sometimes thought , the translation of " Arche Royale , " though that might seem the easiest , perhaps the most natural solution . I understand from Bro . Gould that thc minutes of the Antient

Grand Lodge throw no light upon the subject , neither do the Grand Lodge records . Can any one suggest where we can look for such evidence ? A good deal more turns on this point in respect of the history of Freemasonry than might appear at first sight , and I shall be pleased if Bro . Gould and others can holn us in the matter .

Excess Of Zeal.

EXCESS OF ZEAL .

rrom the " I < reemasons' Repository . Our first thought very likely will be that an excess of zeal in a good cause is not possible . It is a difficulty of an opposite character which is more often encountered in the prosecution of noble enterprises and thc carrying forward of those movements which have relation to the best interest of society and the world . Indifferentism is thc great obstacle to human progress . There

arc plenty of people possessed of amiable instincts and generally good purposes , whom il is difficult to rouse into activity however noble thc cause or important the crisis may be . Wc say of such that they have no enthusiasm in their natures—they do nothing heartily and with their might . Perhaps they arc saturated with selfishness so that they feel small concern for the interests which relate to the good of society ; perhaps they have trained

themselves to that passionless indifference which takes pride in showing no emotion , which holds the life to calm and measured forms of expression , repressing the strong tides of thought and feeling which otherwise would flow forth with such mighty power . From one cause and another men hold back service and love to their fellows , exhibiting a condition of indifferentism which indeed is pitiable to

behold . Even when their sympathies are somewhat interested , and their cooperation secured in behalf of a cause or movement , it is only in a languid and half-hearted sort of a way that they engage in the work to which they are thus committed . Their love ol ease and of isolation—the habits they have acquired , or their natural torpidity of disposition—restrain them from becoming thoroughly interested in anybody or anything . Moderation , not

zeal , is the distinguishing characteristic of those who hold in such careful check their thoughts and feelings , whilst they seem to cultivate an easy and careless indifference even in regard lo matters which are of supreme importance . Masonry lias a large class of indifl ' erentists among its constituency .

There are brethren who have taken all the Degrees , and who have been advanced to high positions in the Craft , who yet seem to be insensible to the glories of the Institution . They arc not roused and thrilled by the teachings of the Royal Art—they show no deep sympathies nor hearty service as the result of their Masonic membership . It goes without saying that these torpid souls are obstructions in the way of Masonic progress , and that every