Masterpieces Of The Architecture Of Different Nations.

exquisite effect of li ght . One can believe in looking at them that if thc gods of Olympus had wished to have removed a city there , they would havo made choice of that at Palmyra , or rather that Palmyra is one of their cities , over the erection of which Apollo presided , ancl which they afterwards made a gift of to the inhabitants of Palmyra .

Sovereigns who would reproduce in their empire the aspects of Palmyra , without exhausting their treasures , have a ready and easy means of so doing ; it is to order the most skilful decorators to present to them on the stages of their theatres the aspects of that superb city , and to prove their talent , not in striving to embellish anything , but in giving to their

pictures the extreme purity and the truth of nature . The different models of thc monuments of Palmyra offer , above all , the most enchanting effects when they are artisticall y lit up at night by the artist traveller who directed their execution ; but that of the great gallery , the lino of which is prolonged by means of a mirror , is one of tlie most magical and most singular that can be conceived . ( To be continued , ) .

The Rights Of Freemasons.

THE RIGHTS OF FREEMASONS .

DV MO . A . CI . MACKK 5 ' , 11 . 11 . Of THE ltlGHTS Of ENTJSllED AI . 'PHENTIOKS . IN an inquiry into the history of Entered Apprentices , We shall not be much assisted "b y the Ancient Constitutions , which , leaving the subject in . the position iu which usage bail established it , are silent iu relation to what is tho rule . In all such cases wo mustas I have frequentlremarked before

, y , in settling the law , have recourse to analogy , to the general principles of equit y , and the dictates of common sense , and that , these throe as our guides , wc shall find but little difficulty in coming to a right conclusion . At present , an Entered A pprentice is not considered a uiember of the Lodgewhicli privilege is onlextended to

, y Master Masons . This was not formerly the case . Then the Master ' s degree war , nut as indiscriminately conferred as it is now . A longer probation and greater mental or moral qualifications were , required to entitle a candidate to this

sublime di gnity . None were called Master Masons but such as had presided over their Lodges , ancl the office of Wardens was filled b y Fellow Crafts . Entered Apprentices as well as Fellow Crafts were permitted to attend the communications of the Grand Lodge , ancl express their opinions ; and , in 1718 , it was enacted that every new regulation , proposed in

the Grand Lodge , should be submitted to the consideration of even the youngest Entered A pprentice . Brethren of this degree composed , in fact , at that time , the great body of the Craft . But , all these things have , since , by the gradual improvement of our organization , undergone many alterations ; unci Entered Apprentices seem nowby universal consent

, , to bo restricted to a very few rights . They have thc ri ght of sitting in all Lodges of their degree , of receiving all the instructions which appertain to it , but not of speakum- or voting , and , lastly , of offering themselves as candidates ' for advancement , without tlie preparatory necessity of a formal written petition .

These being admitted to tho ri ghts of au Entered Apprentice , few and unimportant as ihc . y may bo , they arc as dear to him as those of a Master Mason are to one who has been advanced to that degree ; and lie is and ought to he . as firmly secured in . their possession . Therefore , as no Mason can be deprived of his ri ghts and privileges , except after a lair and

impartial trial ancl thc verdict of his peers , it is clear that the Entered Apprentice cannot bo divested of these rights without just such a trial and verdict . . Rut , in tlie next place , ive aro to inquire whether the privilege of being passed as a l . ' eUow Craft is to be enumerated among those rights ? Aud , wo clearly answer No . The Entered

A pprentice has the ri ght of making the application . Herein he differs from a pro / line , who has no such ri ght of application until he has qualified himself for making

it , by becoming an Entered Apprentice . But if the application is granted , it is ex gratia , , or , by the favour of the Lodge , which may withhold it if it- pleases . If such were not the case , tho Lodge would possess no free will on thc subject of advancing candidates ; and tlie rule requiring a probation and an examination beforo passing , would be

useless and absurd—because , the neglect of improvement or the want of competency would be attended with no penalty . It seems to me , then , that , when an Apprentice applies for his second degree , the Lodge may if it thinks proper , refuse to grant it ; and that it may express that refusal by a ballot . No trial is necessarybecause uo rig hts of thc candidate aro

, affected . He is , by a rejection of his request , left in the same piosition that he formerly occupied . He is still an Entered Apprentice , in good standing ; and the Lodge may , at any time it thinks proper , reverse its decision and proceed to pass him .

It ' , however , he is specifically charged with any offence against tlie laws of Masonry , it would then be necessary to give him a trial . Witnesses should be heard , both for ancl against him , and he should be permitted to make his defence . The opinion of tlie Lodge should be taken , as iu all other

cases of trial , and according to the verdict , lie should be suspended , expelled , or otherwise punished . The effect of these two methods of proceeding is very different . When , by a ballot , the Lodge refuses to advance au Entered Apprentice , there is not , necessarily ; any stigma ou his moral character . It may be , that the refusal is based

on the ground that ho has not made sufficient proficiency to entitle him to pass . Consequently , his standing as an Entered Apprentice is not at all affected . His rig hts remain thc same . He may still sit in the Lodge when it is opened in his degree ; he may still receive instructions in that degree ; converse with Masons on Masonic subjects which

are not beyond his standing ; and again apply to the Lodge for permission to pass as a Fellow Craft . But if he be tried on a specific charge , aud be suspended or expelled , his moral character is affected . His Masonic rights are forfeited ; and he can no longer bo considered as an Entered Apprentice in good standing . He will not be

2 > ermittod to sit in his Lodgo , to receive Masonic instruction , or to converse with Masons on Masonic subjects ; nor can he again apply for advancement until the suspension or expulsion is removed by the spontaneous action of the Lodge .

These two proceedings work differently in another respect . The Grand Lodge will not interfere with a subordinate Lodge in conqielliug it to pass an Entered Apprentice ; because every Lodge is supposed to be competent to finish , in its own time , and its own way , the work that it has begun . But , as the old regulations , as well as the general consent of the

Craft , admit that the Grand Lodge alone can expel from the rights and privileges of Masonry , and that an expulsion by a subordinate Lodge is inoperative until it is confirmed by the Grand Lodge , it follows that the expulsion of the Apprentice must be confirmed by that body ; and that , thereforehe has a right to appeal to it for a reversal of thc

, sentence , if it was unjustly pronounced . Let it not be said that this would lie placing an Apprentice on too great an equality with Master Masons . His rights are dear to him ; lie has paid for them . No man would become an Apprentice unless lie expected in time to be made a Fellow Craft , and then a Master . Ho is ,

therefore , morally and legally wronged when lie is deprived , without sufficient cause , of the capacity of fulfilling that expectation . It is thc duty of the Grand Lodge to see that not even the humblest member of the Craft shall have his rights unjustly invaded ; and it is therefore ! bound , as the conservator of the rihts of all . to inquire into the truth

g , and administer equity . Whenever , therefore , even an Entered Apprentice complains that hi has mot with injustice and oppression , his complaint shoidd be investigated and justice administered .