Proposed Masonic Hall In Norwich.

¦ the practice ; but it should be remembered that convivial intercourse is not one of the objects of Preemasonry , bufc merely one of its fruits , and it may safely be said thafc such a result would never bo so successfully obtained if it were made a direct and special object of persuifc . It is only by keeping in view the high and real aims of Freemasonry that there is created and sustained that community

of feeling and interest ivhich is the source of mutual . sympathy ancl esteem among Masons , and ivhich renders their meetings so pleasant and harmonious . The connection of mere Bacchanalian indulgences could never have endured so long ; and even the most refined bond of intercourse" the feast of reason and the flow of soul , " —which Freemasons ought to be able to enjoy in its plenitude— is frail and temporary , when it is not associated ivith some higher and more practical aims , such as those which are constantly set before Masons .

Io the disregard of this principle may bo traced the decline and ultimate dissolution of many lodges which for a long time have been carried on with every appearance of prosperity , bufc have at length resolved themselves into more convivial associations , and met the fate which their departure from fche spirit and aim of Masonry deserved . This is the frequent history of lodges which have held their

meetings in taverns ; it is certainly the history of the numerous lodges whicli formerly met iii this city , and whose places now know fchem no more . TJic discontinuance of fche system of spending a considerable portion of the lodge fluids in " ' refreshment " would be one great advantage wliich ivould accrue from the cscablishnicnt of a Masonic Hall . Neither the hospitality

of the lodge to visitors , nor the enjoyment of its own members , ivill be iu any way affected by the change . The first , in fact , ivill be materially promoted , for tho lodges will be in a better position to entertain the brethren who may visit them . What is of more consequence , they will have funds to reliece brethren , either those who are in distress in their oivn citor brethren belonging to other

y , ^ ilaces , who may require temporary assistance -in transitu . I never hear anything of such assistance being given by the Norwich lodges ; though ifc can scarcely be that there do not occur sonic cases in which such assistance is required and deserved .

lor tlio comfort-of those brethren who arc under apprehensions of a teetotal regime in the Masonic Hall , ifc may be stated that they ivould not only be able to have as much refreshment as they get afc present , bufc of the very best quality , and at club-house prices . They ivould certainly have more for their money , and each lotlge ivould still be able , if it chose , to continue such a system , to spend ifcs

funds in that or any way ifc liked . I think , however , thafc tlie two most recent lodges—258 and 11 . 0!)—would be glad of tho opportunity of establishing the principle that ' the -subscriptions of the members aro ' for tlio purposes of the . Lodge , and not for tlie individual gratification of the subscribers , •?" . < ¦ . > ., that the money is to bo appropriated , as a rule , to Masonic objects , and nofc to eating and drinking . The

newly-created Lodge—tlie Cabbell Loclge—has , I am glad io find , adopted tho plan of each member paying for his own retreslrnient—I ' nope as a principle , and not merely as a temporary expedient , to be abandoned as soon as their finances show a sural ! balance ou tlie ri ght side of the lodger . No . 25 ti might profit by the lesson , for its balance ( if there be any ) must be a very small one indeed in fact

; , ifc may bo said to exist from " hand to mouth . " One evil of this _ precarious state of the finances is , that the Lodgo 'logins to look to retrieve itself by initiations , and a more than legitimate desire is encouraged of making new Masons and getting new members . I do not , in any sense , insinuate that tin ' s hus boon , the case . As iiir as I know , the lodges have acted with groan propriety , ancl admitted

unexceptionable persons : but . I say . those circumstances constitute ¦ a temptation ivhich is nofc weakened by tlie fact that there are four lodges now iu the city , aud that the finances of two of them nniko initiations au object of some importance to theni . it will unfortunately continue to be so , as long as tlio money is . pent so fast as it comes in . The old lodges—1 . ) 0 and 110—arc in a very prosperous state , and quite independent , a . s every lodge ought to be ,

Proposed Masonic Hall In Norwich.

of any funds drawn from the admission of new members into tiie Order . Having urged the need of reformation in this jiarfcicular point , on the ground of principle and also of economy , I have only to refer to another reason which is drawn from tho connection , supposed by the popular mind , to subsist between a Mason ' s lodge and a tavern . In many families

the frequenting of a tavern is regarded with no very favourable feeling , and the deduction made in such cases is , that if a tavern without a Mason ' s loclge be bad , a tavern ancl a Mason ' s lodge arc worse . We cannot make tho distinction clearly understood , that we arc going , nofc to the tavern , but to the lodge . The brother himself docs not like this confusion of ihe tavern with the lodgo ; ho does not

like it to be supposed , when he has been working at his lodgo for a couple of hours , that ho has been indulging himself for that period in a very different manner . So many young men are now being admitted into the Order—and every Mason must be glad to see them join—that this is of tho greatest importance . Lot ifc not be said that Masonry was responsible for introducing any young man to the

inside of a tavern and for cultivating a propensity for tavern company , or Masonry will be regarded as a sort of turnpike on the " road to ruin , " and all its moral teachings and social philosophy will be looked upon as a mere piece of theatrical fiction . I must apologise for occupying your space on a subject which relates only to a particular locality ; but still , as the

principles it involves aro of universal application , and as the matter is one which has elicited attention and comment in other provinces , I have ventured to say moro about ifc than I should if its interests were exclusively confined to the brethren of the city of Norwich . Hfom-icli , September , llth , I 860 . A JUNIOR DEACON .

New History Of Cleveland.

NEW HISTORY OF CLEVELAND .

TO TIIE EDITCK OF THE nnn ' . lIASOXS M . ICIAZIXE AXD 3 USOXIC MlltllOIt . DEAR Sn : AND UJIOTIIEU , —I thank you for your fraternal notice of my forthcoming " History of Cleveland " in your last " Notes on Literature , Science , and Art . " lint perhaps you will not consider me fastidious if I beg leave to correct an error , which no doubt lias occurred in the hurry of throwing off u paragraph in haste for the

press . You say— " In his prospectus he , tells us , that since the Itev . John Graves , printed his history , thirty-five years have elapsed , " & c . Jsow , as a local historian , I c . ur . iot alford to stand spomo ; ' to an error of this sort . The passage in my prospectus is : — " Ifc is now seventeen years since the author announced his intention of publishing a 'History of Cleveland' in a cheap form . The

History by the Itev . John Graves had been printed thirty-five years , and had become scarce as well as antiquated ; though it must ever remain a monument of its author ' s industry . . [ - 'hiding , however , that the late Mr . John Walker Orel ivas undertaking to write one , the author of the present work determined to suspend his project

for some years , rather than interfere with the labours of a literary friend . " It is easy to see how your mistake has occurred . Hat the "History of Cleveland , " by the Eev . John Craves , was printed and published by F . Jollie & Sons , of Carlisle , in the year 1 S 03 . i ' on have a perfect right , worthy Sir and lirother , to express freely your opinion as a literary critic ; but yon slightly misrepresent my intentions when you say , — " From one point ive differ with

our brother , whose intention it is to ignore 'genealogiesandinusty records , ' and we are inclined to think this omission will not only tell against his work as a . book of reference , but also seriously affect its sale . " The passage in the prospectus is , — "Instead of tedious tables of genealogies and musty records , distasteful to the general reader , the information such documents contain likely to interest

the public will be embodied in the book , and tolcl in tlie language of evcry-day life . " So that they are not quite ignored , but all that is worth retaining of them in a local history , is to be ( by a mental labour which you can well understand ) served up in a more palatable form . As generally given , pedigrees and public documents , however valuable they may be to the author , arc as re-