Freemasons And The Church Of Rome.

them for the erection of all relig ious edifices . They were declared independent of the sovereigns in whose dominions they mig ht be temporarily residing , ancl subject only to their own private laws . They were permitted to

regulate the amount of their wages , were exempted from all kinds of taxation , and no Mason not belonging to their association was permitted tojiompete with or oppose them in the pursuit of employment . And in one of the papal decrees on the

subject of these artizans , the Supreme Pontiff declares that these regulations have been made " after the example of Hiram , King of Tyre , when he sent artizans to King Solomon for the purpose of building the Temple of Jerusalem . " The

religious and military Order of the Temple , in its palmy days patronised the Masons , and employed them extensively in the building of their priories and religious houses . The Masons , under the patronage of the Templars , were introduced into England and Scotland , where they have been established ever since .

Though now m Scotland the Order has ceased to be actively engaged in raising structures , it still maintains a passive surveillance over public buildings , and , by the right derived from charters granted by the kings of Scotland , lays the

foundation-stones of the same . The Ordor is not political in its character , though some designing and unscrupulous persons , such as the Carbonari of Italy in the present day and the Jacobites of Scotland in former days—of whom we shall have

occasion hereafter to speak—have clone much to bring the Order into disgrace . Its doctrines breathe nothing but the purest and truest philosophy . It discourages every vicious and demoralising feeling , and rears and fosters whatever is

beautiful and virtuous in man . Every true Mason knows that by his obligation he is bound to prove himself a good man and a loyal subject , and to discourage any attempt to prostitute his glorious Order to the advancement of party or the

furtherance of political aggrandisement . Clinton uses these memorable words : — " Although the ori gin of our fraternity is covered with darkness , and its history is to a great extent obscure , yet we can confidently say that it is the most ancient societ y

iu the world ; and we are equally certain that its principles are based on pure morality—that its ethics are the ethics of Christianity—its doctrines the doctrines of patriotism and brotherly love—and its sentiments the sentiments of exalted benevo-

Freemasons And The Church Of Rome.

lence . Upon these points there can be no doubt . All that is good and kind and charitable it encourages , all that is vicious ancl cruel and oppressive it reprobates . "—Scottish Freemason's Magazine .

Genesis And Geology Hand In Hand.

GENESIS AND GEOLOGY HAND IN HAND .

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CREATING AND M AKING . A quaint old housewife , as practical as she was explanatory , when giving a recipe for makinghare soup , wisely enjoined the necessity of procuring the auimal , and used , moreover , such a term as almost implied thatalthough it was about

, the swiftest of animals , ancl the difficulty of procuring it correspondingly great , yet that the necessity was absolute , that before hare soup could be made the hare must first be caught . If the best cabinet-maker in the kingdom were to receive an order for a table , however -willing

the tradesman might be to execute the profitable order , it would be impossible for him to do so unless he could be supplied with the wood . The old Greeks used to say that " he was the best shoemaker who , leather being given to him , made the best possible pair of shoes . " Nor are these truisms , however familiar they

may appear , inasmuch as they involve the very first principles of human necessity . For God has in fact decreed that man shall not be able to form or make , except out of existing ancl available materials . God is almighty . He alone can make anything out of nothing . God chose to furnish

the universe , and He did so by a volition of his own will , creating the heavens and the earth out of nothing . God spake , and it was done . " Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God , so that things which are seen were not made of things which do

appear . " —Hebrews xi . 8 . The whole universe , therefore , came into existence by God's creative and irresistible fiat , the effect of which is related appropriately at the head of Divine Revelation . To create is to make out of nothing ; to maize is to form out of pre-existing material . To create , therefore , is the work of God alone ; to make is common , though in different degrees , to God and

man . We believe that God made—that is , remade , renewed , furnished , restored—the earth in six days , after the state of so-called chaos , for " in six days the Lord made heaven and earth , the sea , and all that in them is . "—Exodus xx . 11 . Therefore we know both the time when Cod made

the earth , & c , about six thousand years ago , and also how long He chose to take in making the heaven ancl the earth , viz ., six days . But we know neither in connection with the creation of the heavens and the earth . For God has . not chosen to reveal when He called the universe into existence , neither has He chosen to inform us how long the earth took to gather , or to receive