Freemasonry In France.

those of the Supreme Council induced the Government to declare Bro . Marshal Magnan ' s decision void , to his great mortification . However , fraternal communications between the Grand Orient and the other systems were re-established at a

later period . The Grand Master , backed by the Council of the Order , sought to induce the General Assembly to . petition the Government for the official recognition of Freemasonry as an "Institution of

public utility , " and thus endow it with a legal locus standi of which it had always been wanting . Hoivever , a desire of maintaining * the independence of the Order , so far as it had not been invaded already by the authorities , prevailed amongst the majority ofthe convention , and the motion was not carried .

The following concluding passage of Bro . Hermitte ' s address , which Ave here append textually , does justice to Bro . Marshal Magnan ' s opposition to the spirit of nihilism that sought to find its way into our Institution : —

"About that time ( at the commencement of 1864 ) , an event of the . highest importance took place . The principles that Freemasonry has afc all times held up , which adorn the front sheet of its constitution , Avhich impart a meaning to our

symbols , a philosophical and moral character to our ceremonies , Avithout Avhich our Association would sink to the level of an aimless club—these principles Avere attacked , and it was even proposed to do aAvay Avifch them entirely . " Suppose the belief in God and the immortality of soul banished from our temples , whafc

would be the raison d elre of the festival Ave are celebrating at present ? The dead doomed to annihilation by nature are no longer entitled to anything but oblivion amongst men . What Avould be the meaning of that calling up and judging 0 f

souls ? What i would become of those morals taught by precepts and examples , if the Avhole of our short , fragile , and painful existence be confined within the limits marked by the cradle and the grave ? These perambulations , which are a

symbol of eternal life , Avould be nothing * but a puerile delusion . We must stifle those universal instincts of human nature that cause her to aspire towards those three infinities of which Ave possess only a portion and travel only over one

degree—Time , Space , and Life ; still , they are represented in our temples by the luminous triangle and the mysterious Avord Jehovah . No , the suppression

Freemasonry In France.

of those principles which would bufc forestal that of others is not possible ; they form our glory , they rescue man from the clutches of despond and despair , they sustain him in labour , in virtue , in the pursuit of progress . The latter would

become a phrase devoid of meaning for those who do not believe in perfection , and consequently in God .

" Bro . Marshal Magnan impugned and struggled against those negativist' doctrines , the fatal conclusion of which is , that morals must be separated from religious feelings , Avhereas in nature there is a mutual support ; amongst all things , and this

' solidarity' is indispensable to the unity and harmony of the Avorld , de facto , and to Masonry in principle . x \ . n institution like ours cannot become estranged from , or indifferent to , questions that relate to our origin , our nature , and

our destiny ] Avithout such nutrition our hearts Avould be devoid of courage , and our minds of strong convictions . Thus , Bro . Marshal Magnan openly proclaimed in the Council of the Order : Were we to expunge the dogmas of the

belief in God and the immortality of the soul , we should entirely destroy the Masonic Institution , ' " Bro . Marshal Magnan , our readers AA'ill remember , Avas re-elected Grand Master at the expiration of his office in 1864 . He died on the 21 st of May , 1865 , at the age of seventy-four .

Recollections Of The Lodge Of Freemasons At Thornhill.

RECOLLECTIONS OF THE LODGE OF FREEMASONS AT THORNHILL .

By D . MURIUY LYON , one of the Grand Stevjards in the Grand Lodge of Scotland . ( Continued from page 283 . ) No . III . At the consecration of Sfc . John ' s , Bro . the

Rev . Edward Dobie ( minister of the Relief Congregation at Bunihead ) is represented as offering up an appropriate prayer . The Acting Provincial Grand Chaplain being only an Entered Apprentice ( the first made under the charter ) , his presence

there on that particular occasion indicates a difference in bhe ceremonial fco that now obtaining * in Scotland afc the consecration of a lodge . Another Apprentice ( John M'Math ) officiated as Clerk , and signed minutes of the lodge held in the third

degree during * the first four months of its existence . . . . . The election is by ballot , and takes place on the clay