MASONIC.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 767, 12 November 1886, Page 6

MASONIC.

Having re-opened the Masonic - column in the Mail, under the supervision of a Master in the Craft, we shall be glad' to receive from Secretaries of Lodges, and brethren generally short reports of Lodge meetings and Masonic events of all kinds likely to be of interest tomembers of the craft. All correspondence this for column to be addressed 1 to the Masonio Editor, New Zealand Mail.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Warden.—The present Senior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of England is Bro.. Lord Herschell, who is also Lord Chancellor of England. T.O.G.L.—The dispute between the Grand Lodges of England and Quebec is not-yet settled. Alta.—Read Gould’s book on ‘Masonry.’ Hawera. —Many thanks ; will send' you a copy next week. Ross.—Yes, Bro. Laurence is Grand ! Master of Masons in New York.. FAVORS RECEIVED.. Voice of Masonry, Chaine d- Union (Paris), Victorian Freemason, Liberal Freemason, Proceedings of the Grand Lodges of ; Brazil and Peru, London Freemason, Sunday Times and Hebrew Leader. LEINSTER LODGE:. A meeting of this popular and well-guidtedt Lodge was held on Wednesday last, 3rd instant, and there was a fair attendance of members. Business of the usual routine character was transacted, and the Lodge was closed.im love, peace and harmony at 10:30 p.m. ANCIENT MASONIC SCHOOL.. The Institution of Pythagoras at Croton®, was a Masonic school— a- school from which some of the most able and illustrious men of Greece derived that burning love of virtue and glory which have made their names sodear to remembrance ; names such as Epamfnondas, Pelopunias, Aristidbs, Pbocian, and the divine Plato. A very fine account of 1 this school may be found in the ‘ Travels of Anacharsis the younger,! by the Abbfe Barthelemy of France—a work of profound, learning, richly supported by ancient authorities, and exceedingly interesting. Yet amidst the present inundation of romances and novelties it is- seldom, read, and but indifferently appreciated', though there is no better nor surer history of Greece amongst modern writers. Euolid established another celebrated Masonic school at Alexandria, and to him- we are indebted for the solution of the problem, the squaare of the hypothenuse of a right-angled triangle is equal to thesquares of the other two sides—the Forty-seventh Proposition of Euclid, one of our Masonic Emblems—which Pythagoras first discovered-, and which laid the comer stone of Geometry. MASONIC CHARITIES. Charity has been one of the tenets of the Masonic order from time immemorial; and to relieve the- distressed is the bounden duty incumbent on all men, and more particularly so upon our fraternity. To soothe calamity, alleviate misery, to eompassionatemisfortune, and to restore peace to the troubled mind, should be- the greatest aim of every member of our order. True, many a distressed brother in the hour of his need has been relieved at our hands ; many a death-bed of a brother has been rendered happy by the thought that when he departed from this scene to join the Grand Lodge above, those he left behind him unprovided would be kindly cared for by his surviving brothers, and many a widow has bad her solitary and sad path in life rendered comparatively happy by the tender solicitude and assistance of her husband's brethren. Masonic homes and asylums for the aged of our order, the widow and the orphan, are the principal proofs, to the outward world, that we are endeavoring to practice the principles which we profess, and that they are not to be spoken of by the lips and forgotten by our hearts—but that we are bound; in the near future to prove to the public, byour actions in this direction, that we believein the true principle of brotherly affection,, and which will stand the teat of public examination. ITEMS. 3,000,587d01s 96 cents has been paid to-the. widows and orphans of deceased Masons by the Masonic Mutual Benefit Society of Indiana.

The London Freemason’s Chronicle tells, a. good story of a young Englishman who went to North Africa to buy hay, making a. journey into the interior and getting lost. After making up his mind to camp oa the sand and make the best of it, he at-.last discovered a light and started for it. Onreaching it he found a sheik and some Arabs,. but not one of them could speak a. word of the other’s language, whereupon, he tried a Masonic sign. This brought a cordial and. hearty reception, a ehabouk, coffee, and finally a guide to the settlement.. Most of the sheiks and many of the Arabs are Masons, and always happy to hail a brother. The world is full os Masons.

AN ANCIENT MASONIC.- MONUMENT.

In the possession of the Italian government is a monument recently unearthed, upon which are engraved the square and compass, plumb, level and twenty-four inch gauge. Ife also bea:cs. an inscription in Latin, giving the name the person to whom it was erected, together with the significant statement that he was a Master Mason. Experts have Examined the stone and find that it has remained in the earth many centuries. I-t is evidently older than the Italian or else Master Mason seems to havs; belonged to the Latin speaking or highest ol

-priorto the Middle Ages. The existence of •this monument entirely refutes the assertions of the enemies of the Craft, that Masonry did mot exist as such prior to 1700, masonkTmarks. The city of Nineveh was one of the most mncient cities of the world. It is supposed that it was the first city built after the Flood. Its ruins have been examined and investigated in modern timesj and it is stated to be an undoubted fact that the builders’ marks found on the stones in the ruins of the ancient city of Nineveh are identical with the Freemasons’ Mark of the present time. It may, therefore, be asserted that this similarity ; is a strong proof of the antiquity -of Freemasonry. X —‘ JUSTICE.’ The acrobat, with nerve and muscle strong, Steps boldly out to trace the aerial rope-; Apparently with ease he moves along, . And seems unconscious death may with him cope. , . , He poises lightly on the slender track In smiling confidence and tireless.trust; Moves safely over, comes as safely back, And how is this ? He keeps his balance

And.eadfand all within the Mystic Band Should strive to keep the path direct and

With feet firm planted swerve to neither hand, , But-do-the working there may be to do. The thoughts, perchance, may bid our foot-

steps stray, . /Regardless of the dangers lying near. -The path of duty is a narrow way, And want<of Justice makes it costly dear,