The German Masons And The Pope's Allocution.

many wise and honest men entertain an unfavourable opinion of this confederation . Forsooth , the Pope of Rome shonld be the last person in the world to base a condemnation on such a ground . No doubt there is many a wise and honest man who entertains an unfavouz-able

opmzozz of all religious oz-dez-s and monasteries , zzay , of the whole of the Romish hierarchy . Of all the counts of the charge quoted , t"he first alone is true and material ; but the same ground upon which the Pope curses us constitutes our highest glory in the eyes of the civilised world .

Now , referring to the latest papal ebullition , Pius IX . complains of the inactivity of the bishops who , he thinks , have proved forbearing and meek in carrying out the papal excommunication , and of the Catholic sovereigns who

refrained from suppressing the association b y force ; nay , he even accuses Heaven of having permitted such toleration on the part of the tempoz-al rulers . His strictures on Freemasonry are far more poignant than those of his predecessors . It is

true the Roman lrierarchs have at zzo time been at a loss for expressions of violent abuse ; but the present edict of Pius IX . surpasses all former maledictions by the passionate eruptions of bile ib denotes . This we must consider -as a further

proof of the baneful influence onr worst and most uncompromising enemies , the -Jesuits , have acquired over the mind and judgment of one whom Ave believe to be a good-natured Pope .

Our confederation he calls a criminal sect , although no other " crime " but humane toleration is proved against us , and an immoral sect , though the moral law is essentially the vital principle of Freemasonry . The kindling of revolutions and

desolating wars he lays at our door , though every one is fully aware that the commotions and wars in this quarter * of the globe ori ginated in forces far different from , and more powerful than , those we command , and though it is well known that

our association asks of every one of its adherents strict obedience to the laws of the State , that by virtue of our Constitutions lodges must abstain from all and every participation in the political struggles of the time , and puz * sue none but humane

and moral objects ; that our places of meeting are abodes of peace and neutz * al ground , the threshold of which the passions of parties are not allowed to cross . The Pope next chaz * g-es us wzth entertaining " glowing hatred " towards the

The German Masons And The Pope's Allocution.

Christian religion , although we expect on principle every sincere faith , the vast majority of the brethren profess the religion of Christ , and the moral ideal revealed to the world by Christ in His life as well as in His teachings cannot

possibly be beheld by a moz * al association but with admiration and . veneration . He goes so far as to call us hostile to God , though our prayers are addressed to God , and the whole of our moz * al strength drawn from the divine and eternal source of moral life .

Let us not follow , brethren , the example of the Roman Hierarch . Let us not return the unjust accusation . We will not oppose our malediction to the cuz * se of the church . Let us pity the sad blindness of a venerable old man whose mind is

imposed upon and misled . Let us pray Almighty azzd Omiscient God to destz * oy the phantom that has influenced the fury of the Pope , and allow his mind to see simple h * uth , that his curse may be turned into a blessing .

Bro . Franz Spiegelthal , the W . M . ofthe Lodge Zurfesten Burg an der Saalc , of Calbe , writes to the Frdmaurer Zeitung that the allocution of the Pope has induced him to secede from Roman Catholicism aud join the Protestant church ; and

he adds that many of his Catholic friends are likely to follow his example . The following lines are extracted from the Deutsche Allgemainc Zeihmg , a liberal organ , published by Brockhaus , of Leipzig : —

" The Pope has delivered himself of another rude pliilijspica , against Freemasonry , that' reprobate society' and ' criminal sect' that ' aims at nothing but reversion of religion and human society . ' It is evidently useless to reason with Rome who remains eternally tho same , and we only wish to remind the Pope that to this ' reprobate society ' and ' criminal sect' belongamongst othersseveral powerful

, , potentates , as , e . g ., the King of Prussia . At a time when the last remains of the temporal power of the Pope draw nearer and nearer their final elimination , every friend of intellectual liberty and human progress may hail with delight an allocution that is calculated , like the present , to accelerate and even secure such ' reversion . ' "

Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

THE CHINESE PES' AND INK SKETCHES . 1 . Will not any brother learned in Buddhistic history or legends throw some light upon the meaning of the Indian characters in the drawings from the hand of the mysterious " Eaiig , " which are given in Nos . 32 G and 327 ? 2 . When will the promised

continuation of these illustrations appear?—CHANG . — [ As to the second query , wo are glad to he able to reply that our present issue will satisfy the cravings of our correspondent on this head . —ED . P . M . ]