New Zealand Tablet 'Fiat Justitia. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1877. FREEMASONRY.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IV, Issue 201, 9 February 1877, Page 10

New Zealand Tablet 'Fiat Justitia. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1877. FREEMASONRY.

— ++ — In another column will be found a letter signed " A Royal Arch Mason," in reply to our recent leader on the subject of Freemasonry. We publish this letter in compliance with the writer's request that we should do so " as a matter of common justice." But we regret to be compelled to say that, in our judgment, he has not in any way answered any of the statements or arguments of the leader referred to. In tbis leader we assumed a two-fold position : first, we asserted that Freemasonry in England and on the Continent of Europe, and, indeed, everywhere, was one and the same ; and secondly, that Freemasonry, as it exists on the Continent of Europe, is antagonistic, not only to Catholicism, but also to Christianity. We established these two assertions by arguments which are unanswerable, and which "A Royal Arch Mason" has not even attempted to answer. And from these two facts, whilst admitting that many English Freemasons repudiated the antiChristiar» and anti-social principles of their society, we drew lie logical and fair conclusion that these are, nevertheless,

responsible for these principles, so long as they remain members of the society. " A Royal Arch Mason" does not disprove our quotationsas'to facts and sentiments, nor does he show a non sequitur in our argument. All that he writes, by way of defence, may be expressed in one short sentence, and amounts to this. " Perhaps no better proof of the non-complicity of English Masona in such opinions as you have quoted can be given, than the character of the men who are our chiefs," and " the Grand Lodge of England recognises no other, than the three degrees of Apprentice, Fellow-Craft, and Master-Masons." "It has*always, and does now, refuse to recognise, in any way, the so-called higher degrees." This, however, is no defence. In our leader we ourselves admitted, in effect, at least this much. But we did not, and we do not now, recognise the validity of the plea. English Freemasons belong to the universal Freemason Society. Is it not their boast that such is the case ? English Freemasons sympathise and associate with Continental Freemasons in their Masonic capacity. Is not this a fact?' Are not Continental Masons freely admitted into English. lodges ! Is not this also a fact 1 If, then, the principles and sentiments attributed in our leader to Continental Masons prevail generally amongst the brethren, and are not only avowed in the lodges, but officially declared to be the really true principles of genuine Masonry, are not English Freemasons, by continuing members of the society, notwithstanding protests and repudiations, in reality aiders, abettors, and accomplices. The plea of the good character of the chiefs is of no avail. Their good character only proves that they aredupes, who have weakly permitted themselves to be hoodwinked by clever, designing, and wicked men. " A Royal Arch Mason " admits that it was not unnatural Freemasons in Italy should make use of Masonic lodges as a cloak for conspiracy against King Bomba, This astonishesus mightily. We have been told a thousand times that Freemasonry absolutely excluded all politics from its lodges - r and yet here is " A Royal Arch Mason " who tells us naively that political conspiracy in Masonic lodges is the most natural thing in the world, when Masons wish to get rid of a political enemy. This, however, is no news to us, for notwithstanding perpetual disclaimers to the contrary, we always knew that such, is the fact. "A Royal Arch Mason" tells us again, "We are a very harmless set of very ordinary individuals in England ; and that the most amusing thing about Freemasonry is that you 1 are perpetually thinking you are going to find out some wonderful secret, and when you have arrived at the highest degree of all — the Royal Arch— you find there are do secrets." It is really hard not to sympathise with this simple innocent who styles himself " A Royal Arch Mason," and who, we dov.bt not, is what he calls himself; and who went through the terrible ordeal of initiation, and took the terrible oath of secrecy, without getting at the secret after all. . It is quite evident he was far too soft and good to be allowed a peep into the inner lodges. The Freemasons who pull the wires behind the scenes, no doubt soon saw through their man, and found he was not fit fcr the serious work of Masonry, and must be left amongst the crowd destined to decoy and take part in the afterpiece. It must have been a disappointment too to find that there was no secret to confide to him after he had taken the shocking- oath binding himself "to always hale, conceal, and never reveal any part or parts, point or points of the secrets and mysteries of, or belonging to Free and Accepted Masons in Masonry, which have been, shall now, or hereafter be communicated to me, under no leas a penalty, on the violation of any of them, than to have my throat cut across, my tongue torn out by the root, and my body buried in the eand of the sea at low-water mark ; or the more efficacious punishment of being branded as a willfully perjured individual." — ' Carlile's Manual of Freemasonry. But who, except this unsophisticated " Royal Arch Mason" believes that this terrible ceremonial, and fearful oath, and we will add immoral oath, mean nothing, and that they are intended to secure only the secrets of conviviality, and a little philanthrophy,- which latter is, after all, according to the avowal of many of its members, " one of the least essential characters of Freemasonry." Freemasonry is a society without faith of any sort, and without any belief even in God. Let it be observed, we say Freemasonry — not all Freemasons. And how do we prove our assertion — M. Henri Martin, the historian, and a member of the National Assembly of France, wrote in the 'Sie'cle' in October, 1866, these words, " Freemasonry is a Theist Society, receiving into its bosom men of every form of religion, on condition that they profess the principle of re-

ligioua liberty ; and what was the consequence 1 Why, a real storm was aroused in Freemasonry. On all sides the Masons started up with indignation at the idea that their Order should be represented as a Theist Society, believing in God as the Architect of the Universe, and loud and energetic protests were heard on all side?. Brother Henri Bresson, orator of one of the lodges, and also a member of the National Assembly, accused M. Henri Martin of having, by -this statement, spoken the language of an " intolerant sectarian." Two other Masons, who were at the time members of the "^Council of the Order, Brother Caubbt and Brother Massol, declared that if Freemasonry professed faith in God, then Freemasonry would be another religious sect. And they quote in support of their argument, '* A. report emanating from a General Commission of Freemasons assembled in 1863, whose conclusions were adopted." — •Le Temps,' 4th November, 1866. Tbe 'Monde Maconuique,' November, 1866, p. 412, reports as follows :— " In its sitting of the 26th October, the first section of the Great Lodge (Scotch Rite), composed of deputies elected by each of the lodges of their obedience, declared that according to their ideas, Freemasonry had no business to affirm the existence of God." And was not Proudhon received as a Freemason 1 Proudhon who said, ♦' God is the origin of evil ! and who to the question, " What do we owe to God ?" answered, " War." Lastly the young men of the Liege Congress who uttered those horrible cries, " Hatred to God ! War to God ? We will rend the heavens like a sheet of paper," — these frantic blasphemers were considered admirable auxiliaries to Freemasonry, which has stretched out to them the hand of fellowship. And in the great Masonic assemblies, according to A. Neut, xi., p. 287, 223, quoted by Mon. Dupanloup, the faith of Freemasonry has been thus expressed — " I affirm that the name of God is a word void of sense ! We must not only place ourselves above different religions, but above all belief in any God whatever. It is only fools who speak and dream still of a God." Further, does Freemasonry believe in the immortality of the soul 1 Let it be observed again : —We do not say all Freemasons, but does the Masonic Society believe in the immortality of the soul? We shall see. When the last King of the Belgians, Leopold, died, the Grand Orient of Belgium determined to celebrate a grand funeral ceremony in his honor. The directors of the ceremonies authorised the following words to be attached to the rood-loft of the Masonic Temple : — " The soul, emanating from God, is eternal." And what was the consequence? The Louvain Lodge, La Constance, addressed the following protest to the Grand Orient against this monstrous assertion ! " Considering that free thinking has been admitted by the Belgian lodges as a fundamental principle, the Lodge Constance, the Orient of Louvain, energetically protests against this blow dealt by the ' Grand Orient ' to the principles which are the basis of Freemasonry." This protest was warmly applauded in England and France. A Masonic journal, the ' Chain of Union,' in London, writes, " Who can affirm that the soul, emanating from God, is immortal ? Who has any proof of it ? For centuries, Popes and Councils have sought for this evidence and have not found it. ... and they will never find it in Heaven, because the human soul is self-created. We support, therefore, the protest of our brothers in Louvain." But how did the Grand Orient act in the face of this protest? Why, it declared that the formuala was not used in a serious sense. It is idle for Masons to say they are not responsible for the reports and opinions of these publications and lodges. All evidence is against them. These journals are the organs of Freemasonry, otherwise they could not live aa hour, and . these lodges are honored and recognised where-ever Freeprevails. The idea and project of free, secular, aud compulsory education, with a view to the extinction of not only Catholicity but also of Christianity, emanated from the Freemason Lodges. We learn from the Monde-Maconnique lx., p. 267, that at the great Masonic convention of 1870 the following decision was unanimously adopted : " French Freemasonry will associate itself with the efforts made in other countries to compel the establishment of free, compulsory, and secular education. Secular, not only imparted by seculars, but separated from all religion." Every one knows, adds the Monde-Maconnique, May, 1870, p. 202, that this decision was sent to M. Jules Simon, in order that he might support it in the National Assembly. At the great National Solstitial feast celebrated in Brussels, Brother Boulard exclaimed.

" When ministers come forward to announce to the country how they intend to organise the new scheme of popular education I will exclaim : "To me, as a Freemason, belongs the education question ! It is for me to examine, to discover the solution." In 1867 a Masonic International session was held. In one of its sittings, Monde-Maeonnique, 1867, p. p. 196, 197, Brother Massol spoke thus : " Freemasonry ought to be, and is, the only school of morality, independent of all religious dogma.' 1 In 1864, the Antwerp Lodge in answer to a question put to it by the Grand Orient of Belgium replied, "The teaching of the catechism is the greatest obstacle to the development of a child's faculties. The intervention of a priest in education deprives the children of all moral, logical, and rational teaching." Journal de Bruxelles, 28th November, 1864, And the 'Chain of Union,' the Masonic Journal in London, where, according to a Royal Arch Mason, Freemasonry is so harmless, answering the Antwerp Lodge, the Belgian « Grand Orient,' and the ' Rose dv Parfait Silence,' of Paris, gave the real reason of all this : it declared that religious education has a poison, and demanded in consequence, that parents "should bind themselves by premise to withdraw their children from the virus of religious education." Ist May, 1865. The fact is, Governments almost everywhere are under the secret and powerful influence of Masonic lodges — tools in their hands, and made use of to establish godless education in order that Christianity may be banished from the face of the earth. This is the battle in which we are all now engaged, and unfortunately many well-meaning-men are, without knowing it, the poor tools of these pagan lodges, and are, under their wily influence, helping towards the destruction of tnat which they really value very highly. We have a great deal more to say on this subject, and should " A Royal Arch Mason" afford us another opportunity we shall favor our readers with some more of this interesting Masonic literature. But before concluding this, we shall give a few illustrations in reference to the political action of Freemasonry. Brother Bremond, as stated in the MondeMaconniqut, February, 1867, p. 613, says: "Of late a new impulse has been given to Freemasonry. Otj all sides Masons raise temples, found schools, assert their position before a profane world. They do more : they take an active part in the movement of the century." Two years later, in a General Assembly, held at Paris, the Grand Master of French Freemasonry, Brother Baband Labibiere, expressed himself thus: "Freemasonry was intimately connected with all the civil acts of the first glorious days of the Revolution. Philosophic before the revolution, civic under the Constituent Assembly, military under the Empire, during the restoration Freemasonry finds itself directly mixed up with politics, and Carbonarism invades the Lodges more and more." He continues, " Weowe to Freemasonry universal suffrage, and finally declares the imperious necessity for Freemasonry to take an active part in all liberal and socialist movements, and that the true mission of Freemasonry consists iv goin^ before political society. " Let Freemasonry, then," exclaims Brother Albert Joly, " set to work ; let her continue to wage war against the supernatural . . . and study, without further delay, the great social question" We regret that space will not permit us to proceed further to-day with this subject, but we shall take an early opportunity of returning to it, even though " A Royal Arch Mason " should prefer to remain silent for the future.