Ar00600

NOTICE , 0 The Subscription to THE FREEMASON is now 10 s . per annum , post-free , payable in advance . Vol . I ., bound in cloth 4 s . 6 d . Vol . II ., ditto 7 s . 6 d . Vol . III ., ditto 15 s . od . Reading Cases to hold 52 numbers ... 2 s . 6 d . United States of America . THE FREEMASON is delivered free in any part of the United States for 12 s . per annum , payable in advance .

Ar00605

NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS . The Office of Tim FREEMASON is now transferred , to 198 , FLEET STREET , E . C . All communications for the Editor or PubliJier should therefore be forzuarded lo that address .

Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

? — DEATH . RoOERS . —On the nth instant , at Watford , Iho . Thomas Rogers , P . P . G . Treasurer of Herts , & c , aged S 4 . All communication . ; for THE FREEMASON . should be written legibly ou one side of the paper only , and , if intended for insertiun in the current number , must be received not later than 10 o ' clock a . m . on Thursdays , unless i 1 very special cases . The name aud address of every writer must be sent to us in confidence .

Ar00607

TheFreemason, SATURDAY , OCTOUF . R 28 , 1871 . THIS FREEMASON is published on Saturday Mornings in time for the early trains . The price of THE FREEMASON is Twopence per week ; annual subscription , 10 s . ( payable in advance ) . All communications , letters , & c , to be addressed to the EDITOR 198 , Fleet-street , E . C . The Editor will pay careful attention to all MSS . entrusted to him but cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied by postage

Help For Chicago.

HELP FOR CHICAGO .

THE tremendous conflagration at Chicago is one of those catastrophes which awake a universal thrill of interest and terror in the human breast . Calamities like fire and

sword and pestilence , have in all ages wrought ruin and destruction upon the earth , but there are degrees of desolation ; and man has seldom had to mourn such

havoc as has recently befallen the young but magnificent city of the West , which was so justly esteemed the pride of thc great American Republic . It is true that some

disasters have occasioned greater loss of life than thc burning of Chicago—as when Pompeii and Herculaneum were overwhelmed by the fiery flood , or when Lisbon

reeled and tottered in thc giant grip of a deadly earthquake . These were , indeed , terrible events—scarcely paralleled in thc history of the world . Still , the only fitting

comparison of the wide-spread misery caused by the Chicago conflagration is to be found in a misfortune of similar nature and extent , and , happily , as yet , the annals

of mankind afford us but one examplein the fire of London of 1666 , which , for magnitude , can be likened to the rapid ruin that has overwhelmed Chicago . No wonder , then , that our hearts arc stirred to

Help For Chicago.

their inmost cores with emotions of mingled pity and amazement . No wonder that true men in every land—and not least of all , in this land of ours—are stretching forth

their arms across thc Atlantic in practical sympathy with their afflicted brethren . From the patrician pound , to the plebeian penny from the extremes of wealth and of poverty .

in the British islands , help is being freely offered to the homeless and foodlesscitizens who , though far away , are the descendants of our own kith and kin . Already , much

has been done to assist them , and yet the stream of benevolence has but begun to flow—of that we feel assured , because the occasion is a great ancl a sad one , and

English liberality is not wont to flag until substantial and permanent aid has been given to the distressed . We have , therefore , no misgiving that the free-will offering

of our countrymen will not be worthy of themselves , or of thc sacred cause of charity to which it is dedicated ; but there is one section of our countrymen whose views we

are proud to represent—a section not inconsiderable in numbers , in wealth , or in influence—a body , whose principles peculiarly inculcate noble deeds—in a word , wc desire to see the Masonic Craft identified

with thc movement for thc relief of Chicago . It is not solely on the ground that Freemasonry has greatly flourished in the State of Illinois , although it is worth noting that

more than six hundred lodges and forty thousand Masons were on the roll of the State Grand Lodge when it held its last communication in the doomed city . It

is not , however , simply for this reason we hold that thc Grand Lodge of England should contribute to the relief fund ; but upon thc more comprehensive ground of a

Mason ' s susceptibility and ready response to the cry of affliction , wherever and whenever it may be heard . We gave to the Patriotic Fund , good—to the Indian Mutiny

Fund , good—to thc Lancashire Relief Fund , good—each time a thousand pounds . Latterly , wc have subscribed to the Peruvian Earthquake Fund , and in aid of the Sick

and Wounded in War . We quote these instances , not boastfully or vaingloriously , but merely as precedents by which to shape our course , now that a greater , a more dire

calamity has befallen our friends in America . Still , although wc advocate the extension of aid to all who have suffered in the Chicago

catastrophe , we hope that some special effort will be made to reinstate the Masonic lodges of the city in something approaching their former prosperity .

Not many weeks ago wc had the pleasure of meeting Bro . Bailey , the editor of the Voice of Masonry , an influential magazine published in Chicago , and he assured us

that Freemasonry was worked to perfection in that city . Little , then , did he dream that the splendid edifices and spacious streets , which he described to us so

graphically , were so soon to be consumed and reduced to ashes . It will , however , be some consolation to the unfortunate citizens to know that the appalling scourge which has

Help For Chicago.

swept away their homes has awakened feelings of regret and compassion throughout the civilised globe—sentiments , too , that have ripened into practical deeds , the true test of genuine emotion .

The Freemasons of England must bear their part in this noble work ; they must be prepared to vindicate the credit of the Order by a substantial donation ,

irrespective of their own private subscriptions to the relief fund . Recent events have brought us into closer communion with the American Craft—an interchange of

compliments has taken place—a vow of mutual friendship has been recorded . Let us now waft across the Atlantic something more than courtesies — a tangible evidence of

sympathy—a kindly offering of our goodwill . Then will be realised , indeed , what we faintly foreshadowed upon hearing of our Grand Master ' s reception at

Washington—observations which have evoked so friendly a response in the breasts of several eminent American brethren , that we cannot better close this article than by quoting

one of many , culled from Dr . " Mackey s National Freemason , " where , in allusion to the meeting of English and American Masons in the Masonic Temple , he

remarks that it " is already producing the happiest results , in securing a warmer and kindlier social feeling between the peoples of the two countries . We need no

better evidence of this than the following extract from an editorial in the London FREEMASON , the leading organ of the English Craft , which wc gladly transfer to

our pages : ' We feel satisfied that the English Craft will treasure within its heart of hearts the many kind and beautiful expressions of fraternity and fellowship on

the part of our American brethren , which we have now placed on record . May thc union ofthe two nations be perpetual ; may their march be ever in the van of progress

and civilisation ; their victories those of peace ; their rivalry but a friendly emulation in the arts that tend to increase the comforts and happiness of the human race .

That our ancient science of rrcemasonry can contribute to so blissful a result none but the veriest sceptic can doubt , and that

it will , may be fairly predicted from the cordial relations which are now established between British and American Craftsmen . " Arc we not bound to fulfil our part ?

Grand Lodge Of Quebec.

GRAND LODGE OF QUEBEC .

The Grand Lodge of Quebec held its second Annual Communication on the 27 th and 28 th ult , at Montreal , and we rejoice to learn that thc differences between that body and the Grand Lodge of Canada are likely to be settled at an early date .

M . W . Brother John M . Graham , LL . D ., of Richmond , was unanimously re-elected Grand Master , and R . W . Brother John H . Isaacson , of Montreal , Grand Secretary . The proposed terms of settlement of the

difficulties with the Grand Lodge of Canada were not acceptable to the Grand Lodge of Quebec , but instructions were passed to enable all regular G . L . of Canada lodges in Quebec honourably and constitutionally to join thc G . L . of Quebec .