"Behold The Tears Of Such As Were Oppressed, And They Had No Comforter."

over London seeking , without success , some asylum for their wives and little ones . Now such things ' ought not so to be . The chief magistrate of the city of London is a brother Mason and a kind-hearted man , Ave believe ; we

Avould therefore appeal to him and the Corporation over which he presides , to wipe off the injustice that has been done . to these poor families who have been thus turned out of their homes .

It has been remarked that " a great deal too much is being made noAV-a-days of the working man . He is over petted and caressed . " We do not dispute it . We believe that working men themselves nauseate a great deal of the twaddle and

sentimentalism that is vented concerning them and their wrongs . By " the working men , " however , we mean , as most people do , the mechanic and the artizan . They are perfectly competent to fight their battles , and to "hold their own . "

Those Avhom we would plead for , are the poor , who have often no helper—such as poor manglewomen , needle-Avomen , AvidoAvs , & c . And we say that there is not as much done for this class as

there ought to be . Look at those noble buildings that have been erected through the munificence of Mr . Peabody . Who are their occupants—the class intended by the benevolent founder ? No . Wo are credibly

informed that they are inhabited by industrious mechanics , Avarehousemen , and even clerks . Well , it is the old story of " the Aveak going to the Avail . " " Behold the tears of the oppressed , and they had no comforter . " Some Avho read these words Avill remember a

solemn moment in their lives , in Avhich , as " poor fellow-soldiers of Jesus Christ , " they pledged themselves to draAV the mystic SAvord against the oppressor , and on behalf of the Avidow , the orphan , and the oppressed .

Bro . Knights of the Temple , Avhy are we not more earnest in the fulfilment of our VOAVS ? K . T .

Negro Lodges.

NEGRO LODGES .

In the early part of the year 1784 , certain coloured persons residing in Boston , Massachusetts , and claiming to be Masons , petitioned the Hon . Thomas Howard , Earl of Effingham , acting Grand Master under his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland , Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England , for a charter , authorising them to open

and hold a lodge of Freemasons in the town of Boston , in the State of Massachusetts . This petition was intrusted to a Captain Scott , of the " London Packet , " and by him taken out to London and placed in the hands of the proper Masonic

authorities there . After some considerable delay ., the reason for Avhich is not knoAvn , the charter prayed for Avas granted to Prince Hall , Boston "Smith , Thomas Sanderson , and several others , all coloured men , and inhabitants of Boston . It

bears date September 29 , 1784 , and is signed by RoAvland Holt , D . Q . Master , and countersigned by William White , Grand Secretary . We think it probable that it also bears the name of the Duke of Cumberland , though of this we have no

certain knowledge . We are also under the impression that the charter was not received , nor the lodge organised , until the year 1787 . It Avas an ordinary charter , drawn up in the usual form , and conferred no other privileges than those which are ordinarily granted by such instruments . Prince Hall Avas its first

Master . He was an intelligent and influential man among persons of his own colour . Of the other petitioners we have no knowledge ; nor does it apjjear from anything that Ave have ever met Avith on the subject , where they obtained their

Masonry , if they had any , or by Avhat means they Avere enabled to satisfy the authorities at London that they were Masons . * Scott , who Avas probably a member of the Order , may have aided them in this respect , as he did in obtaining their charter .

The lodge continued in active operation for some years , when it fell into abeyance . Of its ] Droceedings , from this time until 1827 , we have no definite information . In the last-named year , we find it in active operation under the Mastership of Mr .

John T . Hilton , Avho , Ave believe , claimed for it the powers and prerogatives of a Grand Lodge ; Avhich powers it must , IioAvever , have assumed as early as 1812 , in Avhich year it is said to have granted a charterfor Boyer Lodge No . 1 ( coloured ) ,

of the city of NeAV York . It Avas stricken from the registry of the Grand Lodge of England abonfc the year 1813 ; and its laAvful existence was then , of course , terminated , supposing it to have ever been anything other than an irregular

organisation . But it was never anything else . Its ori ginal establishment in Boston Avas a violation of the jurisdictional rights of the Grand Lodges of