Colonial And Foreign.

is out of the way . But the English and Scotch Freemasons of Bombay arc quite wealthy enough lo own a fine and commodious Freemasons' Hall in joint partnership . Bro . K . R . Cama told us that it was the desire of the two Grand Masters lo build a temple of their own , where the two Constitutions might meet together ; and it was with that view that they had applied to Government for a piece of land on the Esplanade , which it was hoped the

Government would give on certain terms . Me hoped that before H . R . H . the District Grand Master left Bombay in the beginning of next year , he would si e that the site was purchased , and that the corner-stone of the building was laid by him previous to his departure to England . This is a wish that will be reechoed by all good Freemasons in the city , and the scheme must , we should imagine , have received a powerful impetus from the success of the splendid

gathering last December . * * * An American Freemason , Bro . Thomas R . Patton , who , by the way , is the representative of the Grand Lodge of England at Pennsylvania , has inst made a present of , £ 5 , 000 to the fund that is being inaugurated in the above State on behalf of necessitous widows of Freemasons . The tidings of such princely generosity comes at a seasonable period , as the festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Fund on this side of the water is fixed for the 26 th of this month , and subscriptions are very badly wanted .

Gathered Chips.

Gathered Chips .

But , in the first place , methinks I hear someone say what is Freemasonry ? "Well , " I reply , "it is a peculiar or a particular system of morality . It is founded on the purest principles of piety and virtue , " for the morality it teaches is taken from the volume of the Sacred Law , the Holy Bible , which is always open in our Lodges . As a religious society Freemasonry is a handmaid to the Christian religion , just as any other good society , such as the Temperance , the White Cross , or any other society whose great end is to

inculcate morality , is a handmaid to religion , while many of its degrees are known by the name of the Christian degrees . Having briefly explained what Freemasonry is , I pass on to show , in the second place , how it carries out the teaching of my text with regard to our duty towards our neighbor , for we are told " To do justly and to love mercy . " We are to do justly . What is the meaning of this ? Well , justice is requisite for the peace and happiness , nay the

very existence of society , for true liberty can only exist when justice is equally administered to all by the laws of the land , and all obey them . Justice is that virtue which impels us to give to every person what is his due ; but in estimating what is due to anyone , we must take into account the consideration that society is a whole , is one body , one divine family . To do justly , then , is to do justice to everyone—it is to give everyone his due . But to do justly also signifies to do judgment , to pass righteous judgment in all circumstances . In order to do this we must not judge others merely according to appearances ,

for these are frequently deceptive , and things which often have a bad look appear quite different when we know all the facts and reasons thereof . To pass righteous judgment is to judge fairly and kindly of others . It leads us to remember how often we are blamed for the acts which we have done for the best of reasons and from the purest of motives , and so it may be with others . We are led to say , " Must not this man have a satisfactory explanation of his conductif I only knew all the facts and his reasons for acting in

, the way which he has done ?¦ "' And before passing a severe judgment upon anyone , based upon something- we have heard to his disparagement , we are led to put to ourselves the three simple questions : " Is it true , is it kind , is it necessary ? " And Freemasonry teaches us "to do justly . " It bids us do justice to every one , for its command is , "Let justice be the guide of all your actions . " It teaches us to give every one his due . It instructs us as

citizens " to give cheerful obedience to the laws and a loyal allegiance to the Sovereign of our native land . " Freemasonry instructs us as individuals to be true and just in all our dealings towards society , our families , and ourselves . It teaches us to judge fairly of others , and , so long as it is possible , lo judge kindly of others , for it bids us "maintain a brother ' s honor in his absence as well as in his presence , and carefully preserve it as our own , while we are boldly to repel the slanderer of his good name ; and it teaches us that to the just and upright man death hath not terrors equal to the stains of falsehood and dishonor . "—Rev . T . Barton Spencer , M . A .

* * * With . all due respect to the Pope , it cannot be denied that the Popes have always been more inveterate " ancient landmark sticklers" than the most orthodox Masonic luminaries were ; and , like our American Christian . Masons , the Popes always had a onesided golden rule unto themselves . The Pope says : — " You must do unto me as you wish that 1 should do unto you , but I

may do unto you what I would not that you should do unto me . You must not persecute me or mine for conscience sake , but I may persecute you and yours foi conscience sake . I may erect statues in honor of those who died for my opinion , but you must not erect a statue in honor of one who died for your opinion . " And these notions are defended because they have become ancient landmarks . By hook or crook the I \ , pes once obtained power to tyrannise over the Romans , and they claim the right to tyrannise

Gathered Chips.

over the Romans for ever . In 1738 a Pope condemned Freemasonry as a great sin , and almost every Pope since then has repeated the same nonsense . This , however , not only did not injure Masonry , but it actually served to swell its ranks , for those Catholics who were initiated into Masonry before the Pope issued his first anti-Masonic Bull , must have become convinced that the Pope was not infallible . Others who were born in the Roman

Catholic faith , but for some reason became sceptical , rushed into Masonry to learn what it was all about ; and Protestants rushed into it because the Pope condemned it . The Pope's Bull against Masonry may therefore be put down as a Papal blunder . Again , the present generation of Italians have ceased to believe in the Pope's one-sided golden rule , and have , therefore , erected a statue in honor of Giordano Bruno , who was burned by the Holy

Inquisition in A . D . 1600 . Thereupon His Holiness assumed a ludicrous air of offended dignity , issued a protest against it , and ordered the Catholic dignitaries the world over to have it read in every Church in Catholicdom . Now , in every organisation , whether it is Masonic , or political , or ecclesiastical , those who aspire to a high position must ingratiate themselves into the leader's graces by praising up with all their might the leader ' s

policy . Yes , right or wrong , they must say it is right . Hence our American Catholic Churchmen , in their deliverances on the Bruno question , actually outpoped the Pope himself , for besides denouncing the Romans for the gross insult given to the Church in condemning its actions of bygone days , they added a bitter dose to the Freemasons . Now , if Bruno had been a Mason , there would have been some reason for mixing up Masonry with Bruno's sins . But as Bruno was not a Mason , it was simply absurd to lug Masonry into connection with Bruno's sins . — -Jacob Norton .

* * * The Masonic Edifice of to-day is ' purely modern—very modern . It is like the houses often seen in our large cities , with their lofty roofs reaching far up towards the blue expanse of heaven . When one is introduced into Freemasonry now , he is taken into the basement . This is the " lower grade , " the " foundation story , " where he is impressed with the strength of the edifice . The lessons are explained , as he passes from one room to another , and he

receives all of real Masonry there is when he becomes familiar with the three rooms of the symbolic floor . From the basement he is taken to the first floor above , where he finds four rooms , arranged to teach lessons collateral with , or illustrative of , the symbolic floor . In the Chapter he works in the quarries , and digs in the rubbish , and is crowned at last with the reward of faithfulness . Ascending , by permission , to the next floor , he is ushered into two large

spacious rooms , with a small side room . Here reflections upon death , and the importance of vigilance and faithfulness in the performance of every trust , no matter how humble the position he occupies , are brought to his notice—he is in the apartments of the Council , and when the sound of trowel and hammer is hushed he finds himself a Royal , a Select , and a Super-Excellent Master . Leaving the ante-room , he is guided up another flight to a still higher grade

in the building . Here he finds every avenue guarded by chivalric Knights , clad in armor , with swords drawn and helmets down , prepared lo defend the sepulchre from every approaching foe . Here is the scet . c of " coarse diet , rough habit , and severe duty . " Here is a presentation of the great principles of Truth and Fidelity ; and here , surrounded by most gorgeous paraphernalia , he is shown the Cross and bidden to conquer in its sign . Deeply impressed with these lessons , and the beauty and solemnity displayed in the various compartments of the Commandery , he is ready to exclaim , " This surely is the summit of Masonic glory ! "—Voice oj Masonry .

We cannot pretend to have a dual existence , one as Masons , another as men . We must be upright men , altogether , and at all times , or we are not true to the Craft , to ourselves , or to God . And this , then , is the conclusion I wish to draw : there must be a reality in all that we do . Masonry must not be a mere profession of morality with the lips , without the solid foundation of moral life . We must not clothe ourselves with the emblem of innocence ,

and then put off innocence when we put off the emblem . We must not one moment be giving expression to the sublimest sentiments of religion and morality , and the moment after become mere children of this world . Masonry is not a pastime , nor the lodge a club . We are souls in searcli of the light whereby we may see and know God , and it is by keeping this object in view that Masonry will prosper , and Masons

be built up in virtue and in truth . Even our best endeavors will but ill prepare us for the presence of the Grand Master , but half-heartedness and lukewarmncss , and unreality doom beforehand to disappointment hereafter , and only merit here the contempt of all earnest and straightforward men . A Mason at certain times must needs be slipshod , but Masonry itself should never be slipshod . With a perfect being to glorify , and

perfection to aim at in ourselves , how can we be anything but profoundly and solemnly in earnest ? Let the spirit of Masonry , then , prevail in our hearts and in our lives . Let the beauty and harmony and unity of our Order be conspicuous in all we do . Let all the world be better for the good that resides in Masons . Let us in the Lodge and in the world be real , and true to Godto nei and to ourselves The ht

, our ghbors , . — Rig Rev . A . W . Sillitoe , D . D . " * * # Answers to Correspondents and several other matters stand over for want of space .