Jottings From Masonic Journals.

Jottings from Masonic Journals .

—«¦—We have received the April and May numbers of The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine , Boston , U . S . A ., which is edited by one of the most accomplished Masons in America , Bro . Charles W . Moore , for many years Grand Secretary ofthe Grand Lodge of Massachusetts . It appears that the magazine

has hitherto been been sent to one of our agents instead of to our office direct , but in future we hope to receive it regularly , as besides being the oldest it is decidedly among the very best of our Transatlantic Masonic contemporaries . In the April number there is a stirring article upon the recent massacre of Masons in Cuba by the Spanish

authorities , at the instigation of a Romish priest . We quote the article , not only as an expression of our sympathy with the just wrath of the editor , but to show our readers how vigorously Bro . Moore deals with the subject quoted . We are glad to see that

articles and remarks from several of our correspondents , Bros . Carpenter , Hughan , Little and Paton , are freely and approvingly quoted by The Freemasons' Monthly Magasiue , and we are sure that those well-known brethren will be equally pleased to learn the fact .

" THE MASSACRE AT SANTIAGO . " As a general rule , political and civil dissensions , rebellions , and revolutions do not generally fall within the scope of discussions appropriate to an exclusively Masonic journal . Masonry wisely leaves all such topics , as well as religious disputations and sectarian animosities , to the secular and religious press , to which they more properly

belong . All general rules are , however , more or less dependent , in their practical application , on certain recognised conditions ; and where these conditions exist in their entirety , the rule is to be respected ; but not otherwise . Self-preservation is no less a natural law of social than of physical existence ; and when this law is arbilarily ourraged by bigotry or tyranny , then resistance is not merely

proper , but is justified by every principle of duty . The entire history of our institution is in evidence that when impelled by considerations of this kind , and then only , Masons , as such , throwing aside for the present their personal preferences , have left their quiet and peaceful retreats to mingle in the distasteful and tumultuous strifes of political and civil turmoil . It was this incentive that , in the

anti-Masonic period of this country , drew them from lhe political parties of their choice , and united them , as occasion required with that in whose ranks their strength could be most effectually employed against their common enemy . No combination or organisation of their forces was had or needed . It was the active operation of the law of selfpreservation alone , and it is this natural law or principle ,

strengthened by political oppression , and stimulated by priestly intolerence , which has led our brethren of the island of Cuba into active sympathy with the revolutionary cause there , if indeed it be true , as is claimed , that they have manifested any active participation in it . Hut while this is unqualifiedly denied by them , the authorities have failed to produce any evidence to the contrary .

Indeed , evidence was not needed They were Masons , and held their meetings in secret , in defiance of the anathemas and persecutions of a licentious and bigoted priesthood , a id this was enough . The doctrine ofthe Catholic Church in Spain , and wherever else it dares to avow its hatred ,

is , as recently proclaimed by one of its priests , that all Masons are religious heretics and political traitors , and are to be so regarded and persecuted by that church wherever it is in power . We have a terrible illustration of this in the late massacre of our brethren in Cuba , the particular ; of which are given in the public papers as follows : —

NEW YORK , March 3 . —A Havana letter of the 25 th ult . states that the Spaniards claimed to have captured correspondence showing that a Cuban Junta existed in Santiago . From forty to fifty persons , planters , merchants , lawyers , doctors , clerks , & c , were at once arrested , anil thirteen of the most prominent have been tried by a military commission , fouml guily of disloyalty , sentenced

to death , and executed . The names of five of the victims are as follows : —Senior An Ires La I ' uiiti , the Grand Orient , Master ofthe F ' ree 'Misons of the Island , a very wealthy planter , and a man imusualy esteemed for his benevolence and fine abilities ; Captain Jose Villalongo , once an officer of the Spanish army ; Hon Jose M . l'ortondo , a planter ; and two American citizens , Messrs .

Charles Danmey and John V . Poiluondo , the first an American by birth , and the second by naturalisation . The Consul at Santiago reported the affair to the American Consul-General at Havana , who has probably forwarded the facts to Washington . The Spanish papers report the victims as eighteen in number . ' Jhe viet ' ms testified that they were members of a secret society , but that

their association was a Masonic lodge an I met only as Masons for Masonic purposes . This was only the worse for them , as a Catholic priest denounced all Masons as traitors . Mr . Phillips , Consul at Santiago , ably seconded by Mr . Ramsden , the British Consul , endeavoured hard and long to save the lives of his two countrymen , Messrs . Oamney and Portuondo , but without success . The volunteers

Spaniards , insisted upon their life-blood been shed , as well as thai of their eleven Cuban associates , and thwarted all appeals made to the Lieutenant-Governor of the district to spare them . The two Americans were Free Masons , and therefore were sacrificed lo Spanish intolerance and

fanaticism . Forty more were arrested , but were not executed at the time the above were shot , but probably have been . The volunteers were furious at the delay in executing the latter , caused by the Lieutenant-Governor of the district of Santiago sending to the Captain-General for advice on the subject . There were several Americans

Jottings From Masonic Journals.

among them . Consul Phillips has asked that an American man-of-war be sent there , and the British consid has also sent for a frigate . The excitement at Santiago was very great . A ship carpenter named Frederick Jordon , a British subject , had also been murdered by the volunteers at Santiago . ' " A more ferocious and demoniacal outrage than the

above is not to be found on the blood-stained pages of the modern history of that religious anomaly , the Roman Catholic Church ; and that it should have been permitted to occur in this enlightened age of the world , and within twenty-four hours' sail of our own country , is a disgrace to civilization . The effect of it ought to be , and , if there is any just appreciation of the true sentiments of humanity

remaining in the hearts of men in authority , it will be , to arouse a spirit of indignation , and awaken a sympathy that shall shake to its foundations the tyranny that has already too long held in bondage , paralyzed the energies , and drenched the soil with the life-blood of the oppressed people of the fairest , richest , and loveliest island on the face of the earth .

"In view of these occurrences , political considerations are a mockery — diplomacy a cheat . The calls of humanity are paramount to both , and cannot , without criminality , be longer suffered to pass unheeded by any civilized people . "The abstract question whether Masonry shall continue to exist in the island , or be driven from it , is not

perhaps of itself a matter of much public importance ; but there is a principle of natural right involved in the issue , the rightful decision of which is to determine whether the people of Cuba shall continue in bondage or rise to the dignity of freemen . And in the settlement of this question Masons have a common interest , and if they be men , will not fail , whatever their opinions may heretofore have

been , to make common cause with their struggling fellowcitizens , as the condition of their future existence as freemen in the enjoyment of the social and political rights which among civilized nations are denied to none but bondmen . Should this be the result of the recent massacre , the innocent blood shed on that occasion may be to the cause of the revolutionists what the blood of the

martyrs was to the church . Like the early Christians , our brethren in the island have for more than half a century , been almost literally driven by the minions of arbitrary power , into the caverns of the earth , to practice their rites , and cultivate those social enjoyments and affections without which the heart of man is a barren waste . They may not be numerically as strong in proportion to their

territory as their brethren who are politically more favourably situated ; but they are sufficiently strong in numbers , respectability , and talent , if united , to make their power felt in a way and to an extent of which the tyrants who now oppress them have no just appreciation . The necessity for the use of it has been forced upon them as a means of self-preservation , and no law of Masonry , loyalty , or justice would be violated by the exercise of it . "

A lodge of sorrow has been held in Sacramento , Cal ., in memory of the late Bros . Mitchell , Davis , Hartley , and Ross , all 32 or 33 ° . The following programme of the proceedings is given in Pomeroy ' s New York Democrat : —

" 1 . Voluntary on the organ , and De Profundi ! by by the choir . 2 . After the light in the South was extinguished , Miserere , by the choir . 3 . After the light in the West was extinguished , Miserere . 4 . After the light in the East was extinguished , Master : The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away . Blessed be the name of the

Lord , Amen ! Response , by all the brethren : So mote it be , Amen ! Amen ! Miserere , by the choir . 5 . Anthem , No . 1 . " Among the dead our brothers sleep , Their lives were rounded true and well ; And love in hitter sorrow weeps

Above their dark and silent cell . 6 . Magnificat , by the choir . 7 . Ritualistic ejaculations and responses . S . Bencdiete Omnia , by the choir . Q . Procession and funeral honours . 10 . After each light is relighted , Te Deum I . aiidamus , by lhe choir . II . Anthem , No . 2 .

" Mourn not them whose stars are set , While the light is with us yet ; While remembered words are dear , While their spirits meet us here . " 12 . Orations . 13 . After the Benediction , Beat ! Omiies , bv the choir . "

From the same excellent journal we extract the following : —

" WASHINGTON'S INITIATION " , ETC . " Everything connected with the name ofthe Father of his Counliv is not only valuable to the friend of freedom but of Freemasonry . We , therefore , present our readers with the following extracts taken from the records of Fredericksburg Lodge No . 4 , Ancient Fraternity Free and Accepted Masons , during the recent visit of Bro .

Mark M . Pomeroy to Virginia , where , from Masons and citizens , he received a cordial and generous Southern welcome : - " ' 5752 . November 6 . Received from Mr . George Washington for his entrance £ 2 js . ' " ' 5753- 3 '"d March . George Washington passed Fellow Craft . Eleven visiting brothers from olhcr lodges were in attendance . '

" ' 5753- 4 " August , which day the lodge being assembled—present : R . W . Daniel Campbell : J . Neilson , S . W . ; R . I lalkerson , J . \ V . ; George Washington , James Strachan , Alexander Woodson , Sec . pro . tern . ; Thomas Robertson , W . McWilliams , Treas . Transactions of the evening are : " ' George Washington , raised Master Mason ; Thomas James , entered an Apprentice . '

Jottings From Masonic Journals.

" The Bible of this old and venerable lodge , on which George Washington was covenanted , was , during the invasion of the State during the late war , nearly destroyed . The hall was visited by men in the garb of soldiers , the properties of the lodge scattered and the Bible torn nearly to pieces . Scrap by scrap the same

was recovered , taken to Richmond , and there received the careful attention of a Masonic book-binder , who restored it somewhat to its original state ; and thus has a Masonic relic , valuable to the American people , whether Masons or otherwise , been placed in an exhibitable shape to such as make a visit to Fredericksburg Lodge their Masonic Mecca . "

The Chivalric Orders In Canada.

THE CHIVALRIC ORDERS IN CANADA .

The 13 th April , 1870 , will be looked upon by the Masonic body of Peterboro' as a red letter day , on account of the visit of Col . McLeod Moore , the Very Eminent the Grand Prior of the Chivalric Orders for the Dominion of Canada , who visited this town for the purpose of forming and opening an encampment and priory of the Order of the

Temple and Hospital of St . John of Jerusalem , as also that of the famous Christian Order of the Red Cross of Rome and Constantine , of all of which he is the representative in the Dominion of Canada , of the Grand Masters in England and Wales . The Order of the Temple and Hospital was duly constituted and formed under

the name of the "' Moore Encampment and Priory of which Charles D . Macdonald was installed Eminent Commander and Prior . Thirteen of our respected citizens were admitted into this beautiful and ancient Christian Order . A conclave was also formed ofthe Ecclesiastical and Military Order of the Red Cross of Rome and Constantine of which

the Right Hon . Lord Kenlis is the Illustrious Grand Master . We understand his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales was admitted a member of the same Order by the King of Sweden . After the Installation Ceremonies the Fratres repaired to Caisses' Hotel , where a splendid banquet awaited them . The cloth having been removed , the

following toasts were given and duly responded to : — " The Queen and the Craft . " "The Most Eminent and Supreme Grand Master , Sir Knight William Stuart , and his representative in the Dominion , Col . Moore . " " Our absent Fratres , coupled with the names of Harington , Harris and Wilson , ( W . M . )"

"Our Visiting Fratres . " The Eminent Commander of ' Moore' Encampment and Priory , Charles D . Macdonald . " The Fratres separated about twelve o'clock , after having spent a happy and agreeable evening . The following arc the officers of the "Moore " Encampment and Priory :

"Charles D . Macdonald , E . C . and P . ; Rev . V . Clementi , B . A ., Prelate : R . Kincaid , M . D ., 1 st Capt . ; Robert Taylor , 2 nd Capt . ; J . F . Dennistoun , Expert ; Wm . Wood , Treasurer ; Walter Beal , Registrar ; James Might , M . D ., Cop . L . ; S . H . Walsh , Almoner ; W . N . Kennedy , Jno . W . Wallace , Heralds ; Win . H . Greene , Hospitaller ; Tolin Turvcr , Standard-Bearer ;

John Kennedy , Equerry . " On Wednesday the Conclave of the Knights of the Red Cross of Rome and Constantine was opened , tand the following officers installed : "C . D . Macdonald , Sovereign ; J . F . Dennistoun , Viceroy ; Robt . Taylor , S . G ' n'l ; J . R . Ormond , J . G ' n'l ; Rev . V . Clementi , B . A ., 11 . Prelate ; James

Campbell , Treasurer ; Geo . Burnliam , Jr ., M . D ., Recorder ; R . Kincaid , M . D ., Prefect ; Alex . Smith , Stamlard-lkarer ; James Might , M . D , A . T . Williams , Heralds ; II . T . Champion , Sentinel . Rev . V . Clementi , B . A ., and Dr . Kindcaid had the rank of Past Sovereign conferred on them , and

Dr . Might the rank of Past Viceroy . On Thursday the beautiful ceremony of consecrating an Encampment was ably performed by the Grand Prior , assisted by Rev . V . Clementi , as Prelate , and the members ofthe Encampment . —Peterborough Review , Canada .

Instruction.

INSTRUCTION .

Faith Lodge of Instruction , A ' o . 141 . After the usual business of the lodge on Tuesday evening , a motion was brought forward to give £ 1 is . to the Masonic Life Boat Fund , on which a long discussion ensued as to the advisability of giving any money to the Fund , and lo whom it should be paid , there having been an account started some time ago b y the Freemasons '

Magazine and which appeared to have collapsed , and the money does not seem to have been handed over to the National Life Boat Institution ; the other is lately launched by a few persons who have formed a self-constituted committee , and can show no authority for their appeals or guarantee that the whole of the money will be applied

for the institution , and it was ultimately agreed that the money should be voted towards the Institution of the Life Boat , and should be handed over to the Bankers or Secretary as soon as they had opened an account for the "Masonic Life Boat . " It was understood that several members of the Lodge of Instruction were willing to make a donation on these terms .