The "Monde Maconnique" And "The Freemason."

" partizans , " therefore , of "liberty of conscience , ' and even kindly compares us to " Ultramontane writers . " Ws fancy that we are truer friends to real liberty of conscience than that most hio-oted faction , which in France is seeking to jo-nore the very first principles of true liberty

of conscience , by outraging the feelings of all other Masonic bodies in the world , and which is simply playing into the hands of the Jesuits and the Ultramontanes by the specious arguments it is putting forward , and the non-natural position it has assumed . We

must all be struck with the fact , not singular in the history of the world , that ultra scepticism and ultramontanism seem to have shaken hands once again in this " Debacle " alike in the hollo wness of their propositions , and the utter unscrupulousness of their assertions . If that violent

faction of " Iibres penseurs " gets the upper hand in French Freemasonry , it will only apparently relegate French Freemasonry to the barbarism of avowed unbelief , and in the interest of many French Masons of kindly sympathies , religious

feelings and enlightened understanding , as well as of universal Freemasonry , we protest once more to-day against the revolutionary proceedings of a noisy Camarilla , and the violent invectives of a fanatic intolerance .

The New Grand Secretary For Scotland.

THE NEW GRAND SECRETARY FOR SCOTLAND .

We recur gladly to this subject ( according to our promise ) , to which we shortly called attention in our last . Bro . D . Murray Lyon has been elected Grand Secretary by 210 votes , as against 128 for Bro . Wylie , in the place of Bro . Laurie , resigned . As we said last week , we congratulate

both parties on this result , the Grand Lodge of Scotland , and Bro . D . Murray Lyon . The former has shown its desire to give the office for merit sake , simply and Masonically , and has obtained , as we believe , a most skilled and admirable official . Bro . D . Murray Lyon has had his

Masonic labours and high character properly appreciated by his Scottish brethren . No one could possibly stand better than Bro . Lyon ' s distinguished opponent , Bro . Wylie , in the favourable opinion of all who knew him , and it is indeed no little tribute to the thoroughly Masonic

excellences of Bro . D . Murray Lyon , that he has , by the suffrages of his brethren and the sheer force of his own Masonic works and worth , been enabled to bear off" the palm of victory from so wellknown and eminent a competitor in the Masonic arena as Bro . Wylie . We feel sure that

Freemasonry in Scotland will now receive an impetus which will lead it on successfully to needful changes and happy reforms . We wish all prosperity and good to our kind Scottish brethren , and we shall watch with deep and sincere interest the official career of our very able and excellent brother the new Grand Secretary for Scotland .

The Oxford And Cambridge Boat Race.

THE OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE BOAT RACE .

We fully sympathize with the excitement of many of our younger readers , ( though we are old ourselves ) , in respect of this great and remarkable annual struggle . It is alike intensely interesting to the patriotic Englishman , the genial Freemason , the lover of athletic sports , and the admirer of that manly youth which adorns our great Universities . Far from us be that idle

cant , that mournful " Stigginism " of the day , which seem to be bringing " Mawworm " again to the fore with a vengeance , and which apparently would revive a puritan regime , with as good effect as of old amongst us , and put an end to all national amusements and active sports ,

through fear of possible and probable evil . The race has been rowed , and it has been declared a dead heat , before countless thousands , and while nothing can exceed the remarkable training and rowing powers of Cambridge , so we have never read of , heard of , or seen anything

more plucky or more remarkabl y , than the rapid stroke and tenacious endurance of Oxford . Some older boys will think of the seven oarsmen of Henley over again . We are deeply sorry to note , however , that this yearly gathering is assailed from two different points of View just now . First , it is asserted that it tends

The Oxford And Cambridge Boat Race.

to gather together enormous masses of people and encourages idleness , secondly , that it affords a premium to betting and the like . We quite agree with the able remarks of our contemporary the Standard , and reproduce them here : " The

'Varsity race has become a great holiday even among onr working classes , and weare glad that it has done so—they could not choose a more healthy , more innocent , more manly , more fair , and straig htforward object of interest . It is just because it is a healthv excitement that the

languid intellectual ones object to it ; it bores these rose-water philosophers to see that other people can feel a genuine and healthy enthusiasm—a thing that they themselves have never felt a touch of since they fairly got into their teens . We sincerely hope that it will be long before the

genuine interest felt by all classes in the most manly of our national sports suffers the sli ghtest diminution . " An old University man , who , by the way , must be an old " slowcoach , " horrified by the betting , proposes , that the " venue " should be changed , and the race should be rowed

away from London . Bright idea ! Excellent old boy ! ^ . Well , will a change stop betting ? We fancy not . It will , in our humble opinion , only intensify it . People do bet in England and will bet , about almost anything , and it becomes a great nuisance and greater bore , to have well

intentioned but weak-minded fanatics always " testifying " against betting . We are not ignorant of the evils ofthe betting ring , very far from it . But the true philosopher , the real reformer , and the best religionist , in our opinion , is he who seeks to amend , not to destroy , to

amelioiate , not to revolutionize . As a mere matter of abstract argument all endeavours to make any gains by means ofthe " factor " of chance , are , per se , objectionable on grounds of public and private morality , though we are aware that they have been most

ingeniously defended . But be this as it may , we strongly hold all such persons to be most unwise and unreasonable , who attempt by some export facto legislation , whether of successful fanaticism or unwise excitement , to uproot what is so deeply implanted for good or

evil in the habits of us perverse and pigheaded Anglo-Saxons . It will be seen , therefore , by our remarks , that we cannot join * in any of those shallow " cries , " which declare " things evil which in themselves are productive of innocent enjoyment to thousands to-day . And when

we remember the myriads who do not bet at all , compared with the hundreds who do , that great Public , for instance , which simply seeks for a day ' s outing , holiday , amusement for young and old , we cannot but lift up our voice against that worse than mistake n zeal which confuses things lawful with things unlawful in themselves , which

forgets that abuse never takes away the use of a thing , and that very many thousands of our countrywomen and countrymen find annually much of legitimate pride , interest , and exultation in this gallant exhibition of English skill and pluck . Long may the Oxford and Cam . bridge Boat Race flourish , we say , on the bosom , too , of Old Father Thames .

Kenning's Masonic Cyclopædia.

KENNING'S MASONIC CYCLOP ? DIA .

Dear Bro . Kenningi—When 1 wrote you last , I hoped to have seen the termination of my labours at the end of the last year , and the delivery of the work to the subscribers at the commencement of this , but you know what unforseen difficulties

delayed my undertaking , and for a time even stayed the work of my pen . I am now , however , hard at work again , and hope to complete the book by the end of the summer . I append a letter from Bro . D . Murray Lyon , which will , I hope , convince the subscribers that

they lose nothing by granting me a little more time to complete my laborious work on the principle on which 1 am conducting it , most laborious and tedious to all concerned , especially in the use of foreign words and names . I had

a friendly letter from Bro . W . J . Hughan to the same effect , and have no doubt that he will kindly repeat it in the next Freemawn . I am aware that some brethren are a little impatient at the delay , but they do not , I think , quite make

Kenning's Masonic Cyclopædia.

allowance if the work is to be thoroughly reliable for the time demanded to collate , \ extract , compare , and verify . Since I first began to study the archaeology of Freemasonry , much new evidence has accrued , and old ; theories have to be abandoned , and new facts have to be dealt with .

As , however , you have often observed , any subscriber can have his subscription , already made returned to him if so inclined , and those who wish to withdraw their names can do so , though as a fact they all get more value for their money the less the work is hurried . I think it well to

give your readers an idea of what I am now sending to the printers , asking your readers to remember that for nearly three months I gave up writing for the Cyclopaedia , and attended to other matters .

Yours very fraternally , March 28 , 1877 . A . F . A . WOODFORD . Dear Bro . Woodford , — I observe from the proof sheet of " Encyclopedia " with which you have favoured me ,

that the letter H has been reached . To some the progress that has been made may appear unnecessarily slow , but considering the nature and importance of the book , and the desirability that it should be correct and trustworthy ,

features which your care and diligence and extensive information will undoubtedly stamp upon the work , 1 regard your progress as entirely satisfactory . To hurry such a work would defeat the object for which it has been

undertaken . I shall be well pleased if the " Encyclopedia " comes to me with Xmas greeting for 1877 . Judging from those parts of it that I have seen , your treatment of the varied matter coming under your notice is at once succinct and

exhaustive . Don ' t alter your pace , progress as hitherto , and in due time your work will be one in every respect worthy of the pains that have been bestowed upon it . I spent four years

on the preparation of my " History of Freemasonry in Scotland ! " With kindest regards , and returning you the compliments of the season , I remain ever faithfully and fraternally , —D . MURRAY LYON .

Landmarks of Freemasonry . — The first use of these well-known words appears in Anderson ' s Constitutions Book of 1723 , where , at No . XXXIX . of the General Regulations of 1 7 , we find the words , "Old Landmarks . "

This is repeated in the Constitutions of 1738 , and henceforward the word has been in use amongst us . A landmark b y itself is a stone , or line of stones , set up to mark a boundary . " What are tho Landmarks of Freemasonry

?"—an often used phrase—is , we apprehend , a question very difficult to answer . Oliver found it so in his time , and points out how opinions vary —how explanations of the phrase differ among Masons . Mackey , following some American

writers , has laid down - $ as the Landmarks of Freemasonry , and he has been followed b y others , but we regret we cannot entirel y accept them as a satisfactory solution of the difficulty , as many of them certainly are not Landmarks

proper of Freemasonry . A question of course comes in here : —In what sense did Anderson use these words— " Old Landmarks ? " We are inclined to believe that while on the one hand he alluded to the Ancient Charges and

Regulations , he also included , so to say , on the other , the truths and principles contained in ) thoseancient formularies well-known to Masons . He understood evidentl y , that there were , so to say , certain leading principles of Masonic ceremonial and

symbolism ( though then more limited than now ) which were to be regarded as essential and continual Landmaiks of tbe Order , a defence against innovation on the one hand , and neglect on the other . Mackey ' s 25 Landmarks are as follows : —

1 . Laws and Regulations of Recognition which may be assumed to be Landmarks ofthe Order . 2 . The Three Grades of Freemasonry ; which are certainl y Landmarks ot Craft Masonry , to which is added in England the Royal Arch

Grade . 3 . The Teaching of the Third Grade , as Mackey has it , we cannot accept as a landmark , because it is incorporated in the preceding ones . . " ^ 4 . The Government of the IFraternity , by a