The Masonic Controversy.

the first time that adverse criticism on thc doings of Masons in this city have becn ( sic ) gagged , " 1 infer that this is the first opportunity which the writer has been allowed of publicly attacking his brethren , and that his previous effusions have been refused insertion . The letter in question is so un-Masonic in itsgeneral tenor , and displays .-o much ignorance of Masonic history , that it is difficult to believe hat the writer is entitled to the nom de plume which he ! as

chosen to adopt . Such a procession , he asserts , " has ne . > 1 been seen before cither here or in Englan I . " Allow me io state that the Natalia Lodge has made it a regular pracf ce to hold a public procession to Divine servd .-e once i ery year , and that the procession which seems , for some reason , to have excited his ire , is the third procession of the kind which the Natalia Lodge has held . The matter is scarcely one of interest to the general

public , or suitable for discussion in a public newspaper , and it is to be regretted , for many reasons , that the writer should , whilst advocating " the strictest privacy " and "greatest reserve" in Masonic matters , have so grossly violated the constitutions of thc Fraternity , and the precepts laid down by himself , ' as to publish thc tenor of a resolution passed b y presumably his own lodge , a proceeding which renders him liable to suspension or expulsion from the Order .

Since he has done so , however , it is a pity that he did not state the whole truth ;' and ' explain why one of the earliest acts of that lodge was to obtain a dispensation from the Grand Lodge for attending public processions to Divine service in Masonic regalia . ' . With regard to such processions generally , and to the erroneous statements contained in the letter under reply , it may be sufficient to quote from the writings of the late Rev . G . Oliver , D . D ., who says , in

his admirable work on Masonic Jurisprudence ( ed . 1 S 74 ) , p . 2 Gi , "The Provincial Grand Lodge was established towards thc e ' nd of the last century ; and from that period to the ' year 1 S 42 , no grand meeting of its members was suffered to take place without a public procession to thc parish church , attended with solemn prayers and a sermon by the Chaplain . This always constituted a sine qua non , and no Provincial Grand' Master was ever bold enough

during the whole of that period to omit this indispensable ceremony at a general convention of the provincial brethren ; they would not have endured it . Such a slight on the customary religious services of the Order would have been received as a studied mark of disrespect to the Great Architect of the Universe , and resented accordingly . " To this I may add that the custom still continues . Time and space will not admit of my quoting from other

and later Masonic writers on the subject . Since the writer is so severe upon Masonic processions , stigmatising them as " miserablepageantry , " I presume that the recent ceremony at Truro , when H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , attended by a large concourse of eminent men and Masons , "decked out , " as- "Freemason" would say , "in finery and trumpery jewels , " laid thc foundation of a cathedral , is equally disapproved and included in his indictment .

" Is it right , is it Christianlikc , is it modest or discreet to go to one ' s God with a shower of trumpets ( sic ) * * f Can such an example be found in thc volume of the sacred law , God ' s holy writings **? " Such are the questions put by "A Freemason . " Let the speech of our Grand Master ( the Prince of Wales ) , on the above occasion , reply to these questions . " Whatever minor differences there may be amongst us .

1 feel sure that thc same spirit must be in your minds this day which animated the Jews of old , when , as Ezra tells us , * the builders laid thc foundation of the temple of the Lord ' and'they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets to praise the Lord . ' " I think , however , that the presence of two esteemed clergymen of the Church of England who took part in the

procession of the Natalia Lodge is a sufficient proof that it was conducted in an orderly and proper manner . I have already -sufficiently encroached upon the space of your valuable journal ; and will , therefore ,. not trouble you further with a reply to one who is either not a Freemason at all , as he pretends to be , or is an unworthy member of the Craft into which he has gained admittance . I am , yours . obediently , M . M .

Bro. Wm. J. B. Mcleod Moore.

BRO . WM . J . B . McLEOD MOORE .

AN OLD-STYLE MASON . The host of Templar Masons to assemble here in August will bring together most of those gentlemen whose zeal in Templai ' y matters has lifted the Order of Masonic Knighthood recently into siR-h prominence . Since the last conclave in Chicago , 1859 , the number of members has increased

three-fold , and equal advances have been made in legislation upon matters of ritual , tactics , costume , and all that gives form and eclat to such an organisation as this . Among the veterans now arriving to honour and instruct the Order in America there is one whose presence would be welcomed in Chicago ' -with particular pride . We refer to Colonel William | . H . McLeod Moore , of La Prairie ,

Ouebec ( Canada ) , with whom the writer has enjoyed an ' intimate acquaintance of nearly a fourth of a century . Nothing that wc can say will add to the filial interest felt for him b y his Canadian fraters , but there are many of the American knights whose entrance into the Order is recent and who are not sufficiently posted in our history to recognise the names of all Templary benefactors .

Colonel Moore was born at Athy , in county Kildare , Ireland , January 4 H 1 , 1 S 10 . Ilcisof military stock . His father served under Wellington in India , and at tlie memorable battle of Assaye was so severely wounded as to be incapacitated from further service . Three of his brother ; , and live nephews died in military life . He was educated first in the Marischal College , Aberdeen , Scotland ; then in the Royal

Military College at Sandhurst , England . Beginning as an ensign in the 09 th Regiment , be served for more than twenty years , and was then sent as first-class staff officer to Canada in 1 S 52 to organise the forces there . Retiring from the regular service in 1 S 57 , he was appointed by Lord Elgin to command the whole active force at Ottawa . He has composed a number of valuable papers on military subjects , his treatise on broad-sword and bayonet-fencing

having been in its day eminently popular . So much in the way of military life . But it is as a Freemason , and particularly a Knight Templar , that the name of Colonel Aloore is of special interest to Americans , and , indeed , to Christian ¦ Wasons throughout the world . He entered the Mystic alt , m'S 2 J- 'V dispensation was granted for this purpose b y Major-General Alex . Leith , K . C . B ., the Master of ' -. lenkindre Lodge , No . 333 , Aberdeenshire , Scotland , and

Bro. Wm. J. B. Mcleod Moore.

Colonel Aloore received the Three Degrees then at the same meeting , and at the immature age of seventeen years . In 1 S 44 he was created Knight Templar in the encampment attached to Lodge No , 242 at Boyle , county Roscommon , Ireland . As the name of this distinguished frater is associated with the Island of Malta , we explain that , while on military service there in 1 S 47 , he affiliated with the English lodge , and

was elected Alaster . It was ascertained that a Alasonic lodge had existed in Alalta during the last century , but was suppressed by Order of the Pope . In 1850 he founded the first Knights Templar encampment ( in connection with Freemasonry ) ever held on that island , it was named the Milita , and still exists in vigorous usefulness . In his correspondence we have many curious and interesting facts relative to the operation of Masonic Templary in Malta .

Finding at Kingston , Canada , in 1 S 54 , that an old Masonic Knights Templar encampment had existed there , but was now long dormant , Colonel Aloore established , under English authority , the first encampment of the present system in Canada . 'This seed of Templary truth -has germinated , until now the number of encampments ( now called priories ) is twenty-one . In the reconstruction of the Templai- _ system in England , ar . d the formation of the

Convent General of the United Order , in 1 S 73 . the Prince of Wales being elected Grand Alaster , Colonel Aloore was made " Great Prior " of Canada , and received one of the grand crosses distributed on that occasion . So much is said concerning "higher Degrees" in these latter days , and so many misapprehensions are current as to their real value , that the testimony of so old a Alason as Colonel Aloore is of special value . Having taken all the

Degrees , grades , and orders current m this country — Thirty-Third Degree of the Scottish Rite , those of the Red Cross Order of Rome and Constantine , those of the Swedenborgian Rite , the Royal Order of Scotland , the Rosicrucian Society , and the Degrees commonly known here as those of the Capitular and Cryptic Rites— he affirms that " none of them , except the Blue Degrees , possess any practical , useful knowledge , or can exercise any authority beyond themselves . 'The Craft Grand Lodge is the only really supreme

governing body . " " 'The Scotch Rite in its modern reformed work ( due to Albert Pike ) is of a stately and refined character , ' and calculated to interest the Alasonic student , " but nothing more . Of the Templar Order he has always been an enthusiastic admirer , as having more reality than the other bodies adopted by the Craft , and capable of being brought , he thinks , into vigorous life by giving it more of the spirit of chivalry , purifying it from the modern innovations , that had no place in the ancient Order . ROB . AIORRIS .

Power Of Masonry.

POWER OF MASONRY .

That Masonry is a power cannot be denied . As an institution it has obtained a strong foothold in all parts of the civilised world , and is generally-recognised as one of the great uplifting forces of human society . As a Fraternity it leads all other associations of a like social and benevolent character , and has a constantly augmenting influence

among the most progressive communities of the earth . Alasonry claims to rank with those potential factors of civilisation and * Tiumanity the ministry of which is best approved . Can it justify such a claim ? Does it indeed exert a deep and wide-spread influence of good ? and , if so , what is the impulsion of such a power ? We may find proof of the power of Alasonry both in

history and experience . The records that have been made are abundant to show that its potent presence has been felt in many of the forward movements of society and the world , and that it has been both a directing and an ameliorating agency to individuals and communities alike . Masonry has not becn accustomed to boast of its might in these or other respects , nor to magnify its gifts for the public

benefit ; but enough is on record to establish the fact that it has always been an earnest all y of the rights of man and the good order of society ; that it has given aid to those humanities and reforms whereby mankind have been helped to a better condition , so making some visible contributions to the general welfare , albeit much of its influence has been exerted in ways so quiet and unheralded as hardly to claim the notice of those who only judge of power by its outward

expression . The power of Masonry may be proven by subjective methods—by tbe testimony of individual experience . Let us look within , and ask ourselves the question , have wc not been benefited by . Masonry ? As the teachings and suggestions of the Masonic system have fallen upon our ears and obtained lodgment in our minds , has not our thought

becn quickened and enlarged ? Have wc not been quickened in our mental and moral sensibilities—made happier and better—as we have drank in the lessons of our royal art , and shared in the sweet communions for which Masonry provides so many delightful occasions ? 'The genuine Mason needs no outside testimony to assure him of the blessed power wielded by the Institution to which he stands

pledged ; lie has felt—he feels continually— its magnetic touch on his soul , and appreciates how much his thought and character have been moulded by its influence . Do we ask in what this power consists ? Answer may be given that such power depends in part on that system of moral and philosophical truth which is put forth under thc Alasonic name , and illustrated and enforced by such varied

symbolism as that which attaches to the representation of the Masonic ritual . Truth is always a potent force in the world , but all truth is not of one and the same efficiency . 'The multiplication table is a statement of truths , but it does not greatly move or edify the learner . 'The truths which Masonry has in its keeping , and wliich it enunciates and enforces in ways most significant , relate to the most

important themes . 'They have to do with questions of duty and happiness , with what relates to life on its supreme side , with the everlasting verities of God and Heaven . The Masonic system has power , because it is not trivial , frivolous and superficial ; but , on the contrary , because it deals with principles and truths that arc of noble and far-reaching imp j-rt . It is a science and an art in itself , and is

concerned with all sound learning , with all true philosoph y . Beyond this , however , Masonry represents great truths essential to the satisfaction of the moral nature—truths that relate to the being of God and His relation to man , to the immortality of the soul and the celestial life . But Masonry is powerful , not alone on account of the truth incorporated in its system , but also because of that principle of love which it seeks to make the great influen-

Power Of Masonry.

cing motive of life . In thc appreciation of this most excellent grace it brings its disciples into close and sympathetic accord , and bids them to have fellowship with and help for each other . Brotherhood is the watchword which means so much to every well-instructed Mason , as it suggests to him both thc duties and thc privileges which are his . Many things are shown him in thc way of the unfolding of tilt ritual ancl thc teaching of its lessons , but , above all , he is

reminded that love is the crowning virtue of a noble life ; it i . s indeed the bond of perfection and the fulfilling of the law . Here , then , we find two of the potent elements that give Masonry its power in thc world—the truth that is enwrought in thc system , and the love to which it exhorts with such

earnestness , and"which it illustrates , at least in some partial degree , by word and by deed . That these are grand sources of a world-wide inlluence cannot be gainsaid . Only let Alasons be faithful to what their Institution stands for and inculcates , and no fear of its waning influence need ever be entertained . —Freemasons' Repository .

The Lord Mayor's Visit To Belgium.

THE LORD MAYOR'S VISIT TO BELGIUM .

The Lord Mayor ( Bro . Alderman Sir Francis Wyatt Truscott ) andthe Lady Mayoress , with whom was Mr . Sheriff Woolloton and Afrs . Woolloton , Mr . Sheriff Bayley and Mrs . Bayley , Alderman Sir T . Gabriel , Bart ., and Miss Gabriel , Mr . Alderman Lawrence , M . P ., Miss Lawrence ,

and Mr . A . Lawrence , Mr . George , and Mr . Henry Truscott , left London on Saturday week to take part in the fetes in celebration of the jubilee of Belgian independence . The Civic party proceeded in a saloon carriage to Dover by the South Eastern Railway , and thence by the Calais-Douvres to Calais , where an express train conveyed the visitors to the Belgian capital , where they arrived about

nine o ' clock the same night . Mr . P . De Keyser , C . C ., had provided carriages , which met the Civic guests at the station , and conveyed them to the Grand Hotel , Boulevard Anspach , a handsome and commodious building . Alostof the English visitors , including the Lad y Mayoress and the Sheriffs , on Sunday attended the English Church at the Porte de Namur , where the Rev . VV . R . Stephens ,

of the Colonial and Continental Church Society , advocated the erection of a second English church in Brussels , a project which is being warmly taken up . In the afternoon the Lord Mayor and the other members of thc Mansion House party proceeded to Laeken , to leave their names at the Palace of His Majesty the King of the Belgians . A visit was also paid to the Burgomaster of Brussels , and the

British Ambassador , Sir L . Lumley . The Civic visitors on Monday attended the grand patriotic festival at the Exhibition , where their Majesties the King and Queen of the Belgians , the Count and Countess of Flanders , with other representatives of the Royal family , accompanied by a brilliant concourse of the chief personages of the realm , presided at the ceremonies of the

day . 1 he King presented a handsome gold medal to each member of theCongress and Provisional Government , and a silver medal to each of the combatants of 1 S 30 . A cantata , composed by M . Lassen , the words by M . Louis Hymans , was given by a choir and band of about 1200 persons . The departure of the Royal party was the signal for a grand popular demonstration , in which the English

visitors were not slow to join . The British Ambassador gave a grand evening party on Tuesday , at which the Lord Mayor , Sheriffs , and Aldermen , with numerous other English visitors , were guests . On 'Thursday the Foreign Corporations were entertained at a magnificent banquet at the Hotel de Ville , which proved a brilliant affair . The Lord Mayor , who was received with great

enthusiasm , spoke in English , expressing his thanks for the hospitality shown to him and his friends . Mr . Sheriff Woolloton made a cordial speech in excellent French , in wliich language hc is very proficient , and his apposite and telling remarks met with warm appreciation . ^ The Lord Mayor and other chief guests took up a position on thc balcony overlooking the Grand Place , after the banquet , where a popular concert , given by an orchestra

comprising Goo performers , took place , and some 45 , 000 people formed the audience . The houses were illuminated , the scene was highly picturesque , and the whole proceedings were characterised by the utmost enthusiasm and fraternal feeling . On Saturday last the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress left Brussels for Switzerland , where they will stay a month ; and the other members of the Mansion House partv dispersed .

Opening Of Messrs. Child's New Banking Premises.

OPENING OF MESSRS . CHILD'S NEW BANKING PREMISES .

'The handsome new buildings—partly in Fleet-street and partly in the Strand—which have just been erected as tbe banking premises of Messrs . Child , consequent on the demolition of 'Temple Bar , were opened for business on Alonday , thus replacing the dingy but historical old building ,

one of the oldest of the Cit y banks . 'The new bank covers thc site of an old crypt , which was discovered when the old building was taken down . The elevation is of Portland stone , richly carved and decorated . 'The ground floor , which is wholly appropriated as the banking house , has a massive entrance at the east , or Fleet-street side , of the frontage , surmounted by a frieze and bold overhanging

cornice and balcony , above which is an ornamentallycarved shield , with the arms of the Marigold Tavern , which tradition states stood upon the site some 300 years ago . At the Strand side of the frontage there is a corresponding balcony , with Messrs . Child ' s arms and crest . The upper floors have each a range of four windows , between which Corinthian columns are carried up the face of the elevation , which , with two projecting balconies , form a

prominent feature of the facade . The upper floors , together with the extensive range of buildings in the rear , which were recently erected on the site of what was known as Child ' s-place , will be appropriated as the residences and apartments of the several managers and clerks in the bank . Bro . j . Gibson , Grand Superintendent of Works , is the architect of the new premises , and Messrs . Smith and Co . were the contractors . —City 7 ress . The Daily Neios oi the 25 th inst . has the following interesting account of the rise and progress of this now historical