The Week

He concludes with stating that , notwithstanding the uncertainty prevailing on some points of foreign policy , a peaceful solution of these difficulties may be relied on with confidence ; The views of the French papers on the emperor ' s free trade letter are expressed with more or less freedom , according to the bias of the writer . The feeling of the commercial and financial classes is stated to bo in favour of the plan , the manufacturing class against it , while the general mass of the people regard it as an attempt to conciliate England at the expense of French interests .

The manufacturing interest will oj > poso it with all their power , relying in some degree on the fact that the 00771 s legislatif will give great opposition to the free trade propositions of the emperor . An announcement having been made that the English aud French fleets are to be withdrawn from Algesiras , "in consequence of the good understanding between France and England , " this may be regarded . as a confession that the French went to that place to watch us . It is stated that the French government is about to . proceed against the society of St . Vincent

do Paula—the most important Catholic charitable association in France —and that the minister of the interior has already informed all the public functionaries that they must choose between remaining members of that association and retaining their office of public functionaries . The Papal Nuncio has delivered to M . Baroche , a note of the papal government , dated January 7 th , containing a formal and official protest against the programme of the pamphlet " Le Pape et le Congres . " The Pays says : — " Should our information be correctthe state of affairs is

, daily improving , not only as regards the relations of the French government with tho holy see , but also in reference to those of France with England , which are continually becoming more intimate . The Federal Council has ordered a pamphlet of Mazzini's ( printed at Lugano ) to he seized , and has expelled the foreigners who participated in its publication . The official Piedmontese Qazette states that the

King of Sardinia had accepted the resignation of the ministry , and had charged Count Cavour with the formation of a new cabinet . —— -The note in the Monitenr of the 10 th instant has produced a great sensation at the Roman Court , A meeting of cardinals was held at the A atican , and his holiness received Count Buol in a private audience . Great agitation prevails in the Marches . Bologna is to be fortified . According to a letter from Florence in the Patrie , the Pope had resolved to retire to Benevento if the French army should be ordered to evacuate

Rome . Benevento is said to be strongly fortified and hemmed in by the dominions of the King of Naples . The Norcl states that accounts had been received from Paris that the Pope had returned a reply in a negative sense to the letter of the Emperor of the French . The state of the Romagna has much improved ; brigands and robbers have disappeared , and the reign of anarchy is at au end . A Pesth correspondent , writing 011 the 11 th instant , states that a great meeting of Protestants was to be held that day at Debreczin , to protest against the

imperial patent of Sept . 1 , which imposes intolerable restrictions on their worship . The Viennese government were much alarmed at the proposed demonstration , ancl were concentrating troops round the town , it is stated , by those well able to judge " , with the resolve of razing it to the ground should any revolutionary movement occur . The Journal de Constantinople publishes a formal warning given to an English journal , the Levant . Herald , for inserting an article from the Saturday llcvicwentitled "Anglia Redivivai" the said article being

, , offensive to his Majesty the Emperor of the French . The warning is constructed on the true French model . The Asia has arrived at Liverpool , with New York , advices to the 5 th inst . The House of Representatives had not succeeded iu electing a speaker . There is not much political news . The money and stock markets were firm , aud the cotton market improving .

COMMERCIAL AND PUBLIC COMPANIES . —The Commercial Bank held its half-yearly meeting on 'Tuesday , and declared a dividend of 7 per cent . ; the City Bank also announced a 6 per cent , dividend . At the meeting of the London and AVestminster Bank , the divideud declared was at the rate of 6 per cent , per annum , and iu addition , by way of further dividend out of the profits , a bonus of 7 per cent . At the meeting of the Mercantile Discount Company , the results of the operations of the companyfrom its commencement on the 16 th May to

, the 31 st December last , exhibited , after making provision for bad and doubtful debts , paying current expenses and income tax , net profits to the amount of £ 7922 . The dividend was 7 per cent . At the halfyearly meeting of the Union Bank of Australia , the dividend declared was at the rate of 16 per cent , per annum , payable in London , free of income tax on the 31 st inst .

To Correspondents.

TO CORRESPONDENTS .

MOIRA LODGE ( NO . 408 ) , BRISTOL . —Ero . Thomas Bell , AV . M . of this Lodge , has addressed us a letter , calling upon us to discontinue publishing the proceedings of that Loclge , excepting " under my sanction , vouched for by my signature "—an injunction with which , in obedience to constituted authority , we shall at oneo comply . AVe must , however , express our disagreement with the dictum of the D . Prov . Grand Master as to our publication of the proceedings in Lodges being " au infringemeiitof the Book of Constitutions "—whilst we hold the Grand Master ' s ' ' ' ' !

consent to such publication , providing " the Loclge or Chapter whose proceedings are noticed , " does not " object to the publication thereof . ' AA e are now informed that the Moira Loclge ( No . 40 S ) does object to such publication , aud we shall for the future abstain from noticing it . In objecting to what Bro . Bell is pleased to stylo anonymous reports , he can certainly not expect us to publish the names of our correspondents , though , should that worthy brother ever do us the honour to favour ns

with any communications , vouched with his signature , wo shall feel ourselves bound to publish them so authenticated . We do our best to publish none but impartial reports ; but we cannot always avoid being led into error , whilst the Masters ancl Secretaries of Lodges are too dignified to give us accurate information , or point out to us wherein our error exists . Perhaps it would be unfair were we not to admit , that about a month since we received a communication from a P . M . of the

Moira Lodge , Bristol , relative to our reports , which we were prevented from publishing by the strict injunction of the brother himself ; but we did , as he requested , answer him in the " Notices to Correspondents , ' under a signature which he gave . If , however , as our impartiality has been impeached , he will release us from that injunction , his letter shall be published , though we have no intention to make our Magazine a vehicle for Loclge disputeseither as to private mattersor the efficiency

, , of its working . AA o may observe , that since we received that letter , not one word has appeared in the Magazine relative to the Moira Lodge ; and though we agree with our correspondent that it is better to elect an efficient P . M . to the chair , than a younger brother who is noneffieient , we cannot agree that a Lodge consisting of forty members—even though one third of them are commercial travellers—is in that state of efficiency

it ought to be , if they cannot find sufficient members in their own Lodge to fulfil the duties without having to call in the assistance of brethren of other Lodges . At the same time our brethren have fixed for themselves a very high—not to say unconstitutional—standard for the office of AA . M ., when a distinct pledge is required from candidates for that position , ' that they will , if elected , perform " all the ceremonies and lectures . " Such a standard , if generally set up , would soon thin our

Lodges of many of our best Masons—for it cannot be expected that professional men cau at all times devote themselves to the parrotlike delivery of our lectures . If a brother can efficiently open and close a Lodge , work the three degrees intelligently and impressively , and is sufficiently versed in the Book of Constitutions to be able to interpret our laws according to the dictates of common sense , we hold he is eminentl y fitted for the office of AV . M . ; and to require more from him is to set up

a standard which must practically exclude very many worthy brothers from the chair . AVo can only imagine the rule to have been dictated by a few brethren desirous of arrogating to themselves an undue amount of influence , and of monopolising those honours which should be fairly shared amongst the brethren . AA e trust the rule does not exist in any other Lodge in the kingdom ; and the brethren of the Moira Lodge , Bristol , may rest assured that however prosperous it may

at present be , such a rule will ultimately lead to the withdrawal of members , who , however desirous , will feel that business avocations will prevent their arriving at so high a standard of perfection as that laid down , and who will retire from the Lodge rather than be thought less worthy of its honours than the two or three P . Ms , who have worked themselves up in the lectures and thereby obtained the virtual dictation of the Lodge .

"DELTA . "—In the greater part of the ceremony , the Lodge are evidently right iu their installation ; but the Board of Installed Masters cannot be formed until the Lodge has been opened in the third degree . There is no such thing in English Masonry as the "Past Master ' s degree . " It is however in Scotland , in Ireland , aud many parts of America , one of the first steps to the Royal Arch , conferring as little honour on the receiver as on the giver .

ERRATUM . —In " Notes and Queries , '' in our Magazine of the 7 th instant , when speaking of Bro . Thomas Sandby , the writer is made to say , " That one instance is a sample of his true taste , " whereas it should have been , " Take one instance as a sample , " & c . "X . Y . Z . "—An elaborate reference is made to the subject in the series of papers in our last volume , by Bro . Robert Martin .

LIVERPOOL . —The account of the Grand Masonic Ball on the 10 th instant is in type , and will appear in our impression of next week . " G . HOWELL . "— -Tt is the undoubted privilege of every Past Master , "HiBKRNicus . "—In Scotland—ye . - . In England—no .