The Chief Corner Stone.

time from our attachment to Him ; but may Ave so trust in Him as our Prophet , Priest , and King , that Ave shall give ourselves Avholly to his guidance and protection . Suffer us not to doubt that by His grace we shall be sanctified and made

acceptable to Thee . Relying on Him as our Mediator , may Ave yield ourselves to Him with full confidence of heart , and so endeavour to glorify Thee in Him , and Him in Thee during our whole lives , that at length we may be partakers of that heavenly

glory which he hath purchased for us with his most precious blood . " Can the members of a society which regularly uses such prayers as these be consistently branded with the offensive appellation of being enemies to God and Christ , " and accused of " clandestinely conspiring against his Church !

Besides the assertion that Freemasons are mimical to the Church of God is not borne out by facts . Freemasonry is practised under the sanction of laws enacted in a British Parliament , by lords spiritual as Avell as temporal , and confirmed by

the supreme headof the Church in these dominions , its principles are open to discussion ; no one can be ignorant of its existence , and its tenets are not hid under a bushel . Yet it is pertinaciously asserted in the allocution that "the Masons are

enemies to society , and haters of the Church . " On the contrary , if it had not been for Freemasonry , there would have been no Churches . To whom is Christianity indebted for its magnificent buildings ?—To the Freemasons . Who built all those stately edifices Avhich dignify and adorn every Christian land ?—The Freemasons .

Freemasonry is " a secret society , says the Pope , and consequently sinful . " A society which avoids the light of day must be impious and criminal . " These are his words : in answer to this I may quote a Reverend Brother of your own ; he says :

" Our leading tenets are no secrets . It is no secret that the abstract principles of Masonry are of Divine origin . It is no secret that the system embraces and inculcates evangelical truth . It is no secret that there is not a duty enjoined , nor a

virtue required , in the volume of inspiration , but what is found in , aud taught by speculative freemasonry . It is no secret that the appropriate name of God has been preserved in this institution in every country where Masonry exists Avhile the

rest of the Avorld are sunk in heathenism . It is no secret that we feed the hungry and clothe the naked , protect the widow and orphan , and in all things , according to our ability , do good to the

whole human family . And above all it is not , neither can it be , a secret that a good Mason aims at the appropriate discharge of all his Christian duties . " On a full view , then , of the allocution , it appears

that the Holy Father ' s argument resolves itself into this absurd proposition : —The brotherhood assert that Masonry is a moral mud Christian institution , Avhile I , although knowing very little about its mysterious principles , as positively assert

that it is " the root of all evil . " Now , which of these affirmations is most likely to be correct ? As the system of secrecy embodied in the science of Freemasonry has always been considered by the uninitiated as a great stumbling block to its

progress , it may not be amiss to say something on this head : of all the arts which Masons possess , the art of secrecy particularly distinguishes them . Taciturnity is a proof of wisdom , and is allowed to be of the utmost importance in the different

transactions of life . The best writers have declared it to be an art of inestimable value , ' and that it is agreeable to the Deity himself , may be

easily conceived from the glorious example which he gives , in concealing from mankind the secrets of his providence . The Avisest of men cannot pry into the arcana of heaven ; nor can they divine to-day Avhat to-morrow may bring forth . Secrecy

is no novel doctrine in the world . The apprentice must keep his master's secrets , the master must take care of his OAVU ; a juror must keep the counsel of his felloAvs , a statesmen the secrets of his cabinet , or public business could not be carried

on , and ruinous would be the effects on the nation . What would be the consequence were the sentinel to communicate to the enemy the secret pass word by which his post is guarded ? The principle of

secrecy pervades m a greater or less degree the policy of every institution , therefore it cannot with fairness be a charge against this ancient institution , whose foundation is upon this very principle . Enough is shown to the Avorld in the

broad philanthropy upon Avhich the institution is founded , in the faith , hope , and charity inculcated . Unlike many institutions of modern days , and some of the modern systems of education , Freemasonry never instructs in science ,

without connecting Avith it morality ; as every type , figure , character , and emblem in the lodge has a moral tendency AA hich inculcates the practice of virtue . And this brings me to notice some of the symbols used in Freemasonry ;