Ar00400

NOTICE . The Subscription to THE F REEMASON is now ios . per annum , post-free , payable in advance . Vol . I ., bound in cloth 4 s . 6 d . Vol . II ., ditto 7 S . 6 el . Vol . III ., ditto 15 s- ° ( 1-Vol . IV ., ditto ifis . 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 .

Ar00404

NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS . The Office of Tiw , FREEMASON is now transferred lo 198 , FEEET-STREET , E . C . All communications for ihe Editor or Publisher should therefore be forwarded to lhat address .

Ar00405

gtfrtljs , Carriages an & Srotljs . DEATH . 1 ' ICKL ' . —On the 20 th inst ., suddenly at his residence , 276 , Upper Parliament-street , Liverpool , ageel fortyseven , Bro . Alfred Pickup , I . G . Temple Loelge , i 094 , Treasurer of St . John ' s Chapter , 6 73 .

Ar00406

Unsfoers to ( Corresjionbcnts . All communications for Thc Freemason should be written legibly un one side of the paper only , and , if intended for insertion in the current number , must be received not later than io o ' clock a . m . on Thursday * ., unless in very special cases . The name and address of every writer must be sent to us in confidence , A SUHSCKIHKR will find tlie History and Origin of thc Masonic Degrees of " Royal Ark Mariners " and " Red Cross of Rome and Constantine" in the Books of thc Statutes thereof , price 2-6 and 1 / 6 respectively .

Ar00407

TheFreemason, SATURDAY , J 29 , 1872 . The Freemason is published on Saturday Mornings in time for the early trains . The price of the Freemason is Twopence per week ; annual subscription , ios . ( pavahle in advance . ) All communication ' s , letters , & c , to be addressed to the Hditor , jgS , Fleet-hired , K . C . The Fditor will pay careful attention to all MSS . entrusted to him , but cannot undertake to return them unlessaccompanied by postage stamps .

Masonic Progress.

MASONIC PROGRESS .

The half-year which has just closed cannot be said to have been an eventful period in the annals of Freemasonry . No mighty wave of persecution has assailed

the Craft in the regions of darkness and superstition . We have not to lament either heresy or schism in our Order . The inarch of its progress , however , although noiseless , has been

none the less triumphant . In England our prosperity has increased , is increasing , and , we hope , will never be diminished , albeit we are no advocate of mere numbers as an element of

strength . On the contrary , having the real welfare of the Fraternity at heart , we are glad to find that the multi plication of lodges is no longer

regarded , per se , as an evidence of success . Wc have , on former occasions , avowed our honest conviction that there are some men in our midst

who ought never to have been introduced into the Order , and in this class we include not merel y the criminal and vicious , but the ignorant and uncultivated man . It is true , that Freemasonry is a school , but it is not to be degraded into a

Masonic Progress.

preparatory one for illiterate adults , whose minds are not sufficiently enlig htened to perceive the beauty of its symbolism , or the grandeur of its fellowship .

Men of such mental calibre cannot appreciate the divine harmony of things , or comprehend the force of an idea . They cannot evolve light out of the darkness which surrounds them , and hence it

is that we have to deplore the existence of many nominal Masons who court the privileges of Freemasonry , without knowing , or seeming to know , that they are living in flagrant apostacy from its principles .

In this respect , nevertheless , we are gratified to welcome signs of improvement ;—the more general diffusion of knowledge , and the multiplied facilities for education have already borne

goodly fruit , and we may fairly anticipate the time when few or none will seek admission to our mysteries , but men of intelligence , refinement , and even erudition .

A singular corroboration of our opinion upon the desirability of excluding weak-minded and ill-conditioned men from the Masonic body has been recently afforded by the excessive stupidity

evinced by an Irish brother , who , however , we understand is but a neophyte in the Craft , when he was called upon to give evidence in a Coroner ' s Court , conceniinsr a fatal accident at a

railway station . This sapient individual averred that he knew one of the men who had caused the fatality , but "as he was a brother Freemason , he could not reveal his name . " Upon

which a Member of Parliament , well-known as an eminent disciple of Ultramontanism and an ex-Brigadier of the Pope , scented a mare ' s nest , and never rested until he hatched a phantom

pony , and trotted it out for the edification of the House of Commons . " Privileges of Freemasonry , " " awful bond , which compels men to condone villanies , and conceal guilt . " These

and other platitudes , ludicrousl y disproportioned to the occasion , were solemnly uttered by the Papal champion , and as solemnl y demolished by the matter-of-fact reply of the Irish

Attorney-General , who as mi ght have been anticipated of course denied that any such Masonic privileges to defeat justice legally existed . It is , of course , superfluous to remind the

members of the Craft , that there is not the faintest shadow of truth in the implication that Freemasonry interposes between crime and its punishment , or veils in its mantle of secrecy the

misdeeds of unworth y brethren , but it is important that the outer world should thoroughly comprehend that the Order will never shelter "knaves , or fools , or cowards , even if they boast the blood

of all the Howards . " As for the simpleton who has thus caused the fair fame of the Brotherhood to be tarnished by suspicion , we would advise him to seek that congenial retirement for which

his mental incapacity to learn the very ABC of Freemasonry so clearly proves him to be a fitting subject , for , to quote the quaint language of Feltham , " Mercury himself may move his tongue

111 vain , if he has none to hear him but a nonintelligent . " Dismissing this painful , although absurd affair

from our minds , we gladly turn to the more inspiring theme of Masonic progress . Beyond question the advancement ofthe cause

Masonic Progress.

m England has been both substantial and sure .. The interest taken by the brethren in the devolopment of charitable works , the liberal support accorded to our benevolent institutions ,

and the rapidly increasing desire to obtain sound data and historical evidence of the origin and claims of Freemasonry , are in themselves healthy indications , and encouraging signs

of Masonic progress . In fact , with a Findeliconoclastic as he may be in some of his proclivities—sweeping away many baseless theories on the one side , and a Hnghan bringing

to light incontestable proofs on the other , we are beginning to discern where and what we are , and what is more to the purpose , what we ought to be .

It is a common mistake to suppose that the literature of Freemasonry is not progressive in its tendencies—because the order itself is based upon fixed and immutable princi ples . Any one

who takes the trouble to compare the Masonic literature of the present age with the literature of the Craft about a century ago , will readily concede that in these latter days we are far

ahead of the past . Nor ilo ' we allude merely to standard works upon Freemasonry—but to that sterling periodical literature whicii has grown up entirely within the period we have named , and

whicii has now attained unequivocal and acknowledged importance . It would however be presumptuous to affirm that even now we have sounded the profoundest depths of

Masonicphilosophy , or exhausted the multitudinous springs of Masonic knowledge . Let us rather say , in the humble spirit of the great sage , that as yet we are but children picking up pebbles on the

boundless shores of wisdom—weak discemers of the light , —faint-hearted supporters ofthe truth in all tilings . It is , nevertheless , most gratifying to observe that progress—unmistakeable

progress has been made , that thinkers in the ranks of the Craft are no longer few in number or insignificant in influence , and that the mastery of certain formula ; which embrace the letter of

our principles , is no longer tacitl y accepted as evidence of a brother ' s acquaintance with the heart and spirit of Freemasonry . It is indeed difficult to define , with precision , the limits of

Masonic research . That it presents attractions to the antiquarian and archreologist , none who have read the thoughtful and well-reasoned arti cles ofa "Masonic Student , " or the copious and

interesting , if sometimes inconclusive , annotations of Dr . Bedolfe , will care to deny . That it equally offers charms to the moralist and philosopher , we need scarcely attempt to demonstrate ,

while to the humanitarian , and ideal perfectionist , Masonic studies may be said to afford glimpses of that good time coming , when the lion shall lie

down with the lamb , and when tli 2 whole human race shall be one vast brotherhood . Without , however , adopting the millennial idea , there can be no doubt that the influence of Masonic

teaching is very great over truly Masonic minds , and in the increase of that influence , as well as in the fruit of good works which it produces and perfects , there lies , perhaps , the germ of a

greater guarantee for the peace and welfare of humanity than will ever be found in the flimsy treaties of diplomatists , or the hypocritical professions of war-denouncing states .