Freemasonry, Considered In Its Relations To Moral Sciencl.

of mere doctrinal subtleties , but as the rule and guide of all our actions ; if still , under the guidance of the princip les of moral truth , she directs the minds of her votaries to the cultivation of the liberal arts and sciences , to the improvement of those wondrous faculties with which God has endowed the beings formed after His own image , that they may thereby be the better enabled to

show forth His glory , and promote the good of their fellow-creatures ; if the objects of Freemasonry are to purify the mind of man from every malignant passion , and to prepare it for the reception of truth and virtue , and all this only as a means of instruction how to meet that last awful change of his inevitable destiny ; and if , by these gradationshis eyes are eventuallfixed on the

, y sublime truths of revealed religion—if all these things be so , and well-instructed brethren who read this , know that they are true , then has Freemasonry , in all ages , been a boon to man , and is still a means of blessing him . Its origin , Divine , because founded on Divine precepts ; its practice benevolent , because its principles are those of universal charity ; it aids ancl cherishes religion

where it meets her , and imitates her actions whore she is not . " " Vivat ! vivat ! et in a _ ternum vivat . " —Melbourne Masonic Journal .

Masonic Notes And Queries.

MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES .

GRAND PJITRON 01 ' ROYAL ARCH MASONRY . Iii au old newspaper of 1794 , I met with a paragraph , which says : — " The society of Grand and Royal Arch Masons , held their anniversary at Freemason ' s Tavern . The meeting was respectable , at ivhich his Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence , patron of the Order , presided . The day passed with the utmost conviviality and

harmony . " I , in my ignorance , thought that a prince of the Royal Family was only a Grand Patron of the Craft , but it appears he could also be Grand Patron of the Royal Arch . Are any other instances known ? One piece of information derived from the above is , that thc late King William IV . was a Royal Arch Mason . In what chapter was he exalted ?—TRIPLE TJIIJ .

A FEW OLD SCRAPS . In looking over my Masonic cuttings , scraps , and miscellaneas , gathered from various sources , I thought the accompanying would prove acceptable to some of my brother Freemasons , through your columns . —Ex . Ex . A Discourse delivered before St . John ' s Lodge , " No . II . of Newborn , in America , on the Festival of St . John the Baptist , June 2 Uh , 1789 . —BY FRJVNCOIS XAVIER MARTIN .

" Sermo oritur , non de villis , domibusve alienis ; sed quod magis ad nos Pertinent , et nescire malum est . HORACE . "Masonry is a select association of men , professing to live in brotherly-love , to smooth to each other the rugged paths of adversity , and to keep a most inviolable secrecy on certain parts of their Institution .

" I have said ' A select Association . ' " In any auditory , but the one I address , the epithet might excite a smile . It behoves to inquire , whether this ridicule would be grounded ? That , if any deficiency ou our own part authorize it , the effect may be more easily prevented from a better knowledge of tbe cause . " If this selection be not perfect , as the purity of the Institution

requires , the imperfections can only proceed from two causes : the admission of unworthy persons , and the degeneracy of the members . Each has been foreseen , and guarded against , by the framers of our constitution . " With regard to admission . A strict inquiry into tbe moral character of the candidate is an indispensable prelude ; the opinion of every member is appealed to ; and sheir . unanimous approbation being the condition

without which none can obtain admission , measures have been adopted to prevent the suffrages from being controied , biassed , or embarrassed ; and lastly , the trials ivhich precede the initiation are to evince that the future member is possessed of that courage and fortitude of mind , which aro necessary to keep a secret , and practice the characteristic virtues of this Divine Institution .

In examining how careful our predecessors have been in framing and handing down to us this mode of admission , let us be filled with a salutary anxiety to prevent any unjustifiable neglect on our part from overturning the work of their prudence . Finally , it may bo a consoling reflection , that if the selection be not as perfect as the purity of the Institution would demand , it will be

found as much so as the universality of its plan can admit of ; if the necessary allowance be made for the imperfection of all mundane establishments . "With regard to the degeneracy of the members , tbey are men , and , as such , liable to err . But a more intimate intercourse with persons of virtuous principles—their being constantly employed in the same work with such

—frequent lessons of morality—the anxiety of preserving their reputation—which they must feel in a more exquisite degree , as on it depends that of a societj' of worthy persons—will retain them within the bounds of their duty—and proper admonitions , from their brothers or superiors , bring them back , should they happen to recede . When those lenient means prove ineffectualsuitable

, correction is recurred to . Then if the delinquent prove refractory , expulsion puts it out of his power to injure any longer the character of the Craft . " Masons profess ' To live in brotherly love , and to smooth to each other tbe rugged paths of adversity . ' "' To live in brotherly love . ' In this Masonry only requires stricter observance of what natural and revealed

religion proscribes . " ' To smooth to each other the rugged paths of adversity , ' is but a natural consequence of brotherly love . If there be a period in man's life wherein he is more entitled than in any other to demand from his fellowcreatnres tbe observance of that command of God , ' Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself , ' it is in the

hour of distress . Our predecessors at first united principally the better to afford to the distressed that relief which aggregate bodies can procure more amply than individuals . Seldom ( perhaps I ought to say , never ) was the assistance of a lodge unsuccessfully implored , when the applicant had not rendered himself unworthy of it . "Lastly . Masons profess ' To keep the most inviolable

secresy on certain parts of their institution . ' Taciturnity has always been their characteristic virtue . In the early ages of the world , the professors of all sciences required it from their disciples , and Solomon forbade the workman he employed to impart the secrets of their art to their apprentices , until , hy a long probation , they had proved themselves worthy of being further advanced .

"The ignorant , whose jealously generally reviles what they do not understand , have vainly endeavoured to make this fraternity the object of their ridicule . But malice and envy must be silent , when , on the list of the votaries of Masonry , appear the names of the greatest and best of men in all countries . "In Europe , over tho Masons in that part of the world ,

presided a Frederick . * "In Ameria , iu the hour of trial , when God afflicted us with tho scourge of war , there appeared in the East , a Warren ! f the Grand Master of the Masons of Massachusetts . He fought , and nobly fell , the first martyr to Columbian freedom ! In Pennsylvania , the enlightened sagej , of whom it has been said , ' Eripuit ccelo fulmen , sccptrwmqtte tyrannis . " § His services in the cabinet , and