Freemasonry Is Not A Religion.

par excellence , it suits all men , for it has a foundation common to all , and was made for all . Freemasonry is not a " natural religion , " although H may be quite -natural for Freemasons who are Christians to link in Christianity with their Freemasonry ( the wish , perhaps , being father to the thought ) , but such forget that it may come equally natural to a Jew to link in his Indaism with his

Freemasonry . The principle and design of Freemasonry is not , or is not to be found , a system of religion . Freemasonry is simply a system of morality , or , as Bro . A . O . Haye says , " Freemasonry insists on her sons living such lives on earth as to render them good and useful members of society , but does not teach what the

hereafter is to consist of , " or , I might add , what exact system of religious faith and worship is the best road to travel on . " That she leaves to the religious faith of each , " and , not only so , but relig ion . ! and political discussions are most especially and distinctly debarred from being taken up iu our lodges . *

The trainers of our system of Freemasonry ( who might be Christians ) , desiring to get up an institution , founded on the oneness of the human race , which would produce an universal brotherhood , perceived that to build upon the system of any separate religious sect would simply make them a sect also ;

they , therefore , selected the universal idea common to most relit / ions ( or systems of faith and worship ) of belief in a God , as their foundation upon which they build their system of morality and of universal lirotlterhood . This belief in a Deit y was necessary as a guarantee of ability to reverence an oath ; thereafter , if the candidate was a good man and true ,

honest in his actions , aud willing to act as a brother , he was fit to bo a member of this humanity fraternity . If Freemasonry were capable of settling what constituted " the true religion , " it might next tell us " the true system of government ; " but its founders knew better , and these questions are out of its pale .

A good Christian will be sure to make a good Freemason ; but a man can be a good Freemason who is not a Christian . Among the worthy Masonic brethren I know , one of those 1 esteem most ( although our ideas sometimes differ ) for his honest of action and walk in life is an Unitarian ; and I need not say ,

humanely speaking , how sorry is the practical Christianity and Masonry of many nominal Christians . Were the principles of true Christianity trul y prevalent and practised over the whole earth , Freemasonry would be entirely superseded and unnecessary ; but , as things are , Freemasonry in its own place , if

properly conducted , has a grand career before it ; with the blessing of God , it may be an instrument for great good , and let us leave it to Him to turn it to His own glory . But we must always remember that Freemasonry is merely a human institution , and that the only " religion " ( if I may use that term ) about it is the simple foundation of belief in the existence of the Great Architect of the Universe , and iu the

Freemasonry Is Not A Religion.

universal brotherhood of man . It is this universality that gives Freemasonry its charm . It is from this that wo can truly grasp , as worthy brethren , men of all nations and climes , reli gions and sects . From this the self-reliant Briton can hail the proud Indian

—each with true fraternal grasp ancl beaming eyeknowing ancl feeling that as Freemasons they meet as brethren . But turn the lodge into a church , chapel , mosque , or temple , ancl Freemasonry is at an end , - j its glory is gone , and the whole noble fabric ( the noblest ever reared by man ) falls prostrate on the

ground—a ruin ! Yours fraternally , " W / P . BrcnAK - .

Masonic Discipline. By Crux.

MASONIC DISCIPLINE . BY CRUX .

Tn THE EDITOH OP TIIE ] . fiEEMASOXs' MAGAZINE AXD MASOXIC MII-HOR . Dear Sir and Brother , —I only received your lastimpression the other day , wherein there are two letters speaking in complimentary terms of the articles on tiie above subject . In one of them , however , Bro . Pictus accuses me in the same breath of

writing"bosh" and "blasphemy" I shall return to town by the end of the week , and shall ask permission fora little space in your next number to prove , if possible , to Bro . Pictus , and , if not , at least to your other readers , that , neither historical ! , )/ nor otherwise , have I sinned iu the manner attributed to me . I have

mistaken the calibre of Bro . Pictus . From what I have read of his writings , I should have thought he would have beeu the last to attempt to reduce the principlesof Freemasonry to a mere rude and gross materialism .. Yours fraternally , CEUX . Dover , 3 rd March , 1 SC 9 .

SOUTH EASTERN MASONIC ASSOCIATION . —We have been , favoured with an abstract of the accounts of this excellent Association , from which we find that tho following ; wore the receipts and payments : Receipts . —1866 , £ 13819 s . 6 d . ; 1867 , £ 124 15 s . ; 1868 , £ 127 Os . —Total , £ 391 Os . 6 d . Payments . —1866 , Girls , £ 68 5 s . ; Boys , £ 1515 s . ; Aged , £ 50 ; Printing , & c . £ 3 12 s . 1867 , Girls , £ 21 ; Boys ,

£ 31 10 s . ; Aged , £ -1-0 ; Miscellaneous , 3 s . 1868 , Girls , £ 63 ; Boys , £ 21 ; Apod , £ 60 . Miscellaneous , £ 1 Is . ; Balance , £ 15 Us . 6 d . —Total , £ 391 Os . ( id . A most satisfactory state of affairs , and reflecting great credit upon the members of this Association , who have now the following Life Governorships : —Girls , 14 _ ; Boys , 6 i- ; Aged , 15 ; or a total of 36 .

ROMAN ROADS . —But of all roadmakers ( though the Carthaginians are supposed to be the first people who . hacl paved roads , and the Greeks the first to legislate for their repair ) the "Romans stand pre-eminent . No other people , of ancient or modern times , are fit for a moment to be compared to the hardy Roman soldiers iu the construction of firm and spacious road __ ., which would

have lasted until now , had they not been ruthlessly torn up , by savage numbskulls , in modern days , that they might steal the materials , and boast of living in a state of superior civilization . No matter what difficulties lay in the way , the Romans believed that their soldiers were all the better for being inured to labour , as it contributed alike to their health and morals ; knowing that Idleness and Dissipation generally go hand in hand ; and all obstacles were surmounted bv patient perseverance . — JBro . George Markham Twedddl , F . R . S . JR . A .