MASONIC.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 771, 10 December 1886, Page 6

MASONIC.

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

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS:P.M., Geraldine.—Many thanks for the information,which is noted forifutureguidance. Hawera.- —Bro. the Hon. G. occupied the position of Grand Master of Victoria for the last three years. 'S.G.T.—You are quite correct. It is also a noted fact that Stuart (the explorer) met with natives in the Interior of Australia who exchanged Masonic signs with him.

Kerr. —Tho 'Royal Arch Degree was, according ’to Dr Dassigny’s publication, worked in Ireland as early as 1746. 'The degree of Installed Master was unknown until the first decade of the-present century. U.V.X. —We cannot possibly give you all the information you require in'this column. Tf you like we will let you peruse a work bearing on the subject. S:C. —-Yes; it is high time that the Lodge was closed. It is, however, a matter entirely in the hands of the higher authorities. FAYORS RECIEVED. London Freemason, Sydney Freemason, New Zealand Freemason, Canadian Craftsman, La Cbaine d' Union (Paris), Masonic Review, and Masonic Advocate. INSTRUCTION LODGE. A meeting was held on Monday, the 29th ultimo, and Bro. J. C. Young occupied the chair of King Solomon. Only seven brethren were present, but as several new members have just joined, it is expected that there will be a better muster on the 20th instant.' Work was carried on in. the -First Degree. The Second Degree will be worked on (next meeting night, and visiting brethren are cordially invited to attend. We have already drawn attention to the good work that the Instruction Lodge is doing, and trust that all those brethren who have the progress of the Craft at heart will support it. ST. ANDREW'S'LODGE. An emergency meeting of this Lodge was held on Tuesday, the 30th November. As we were unable to be present owing to other engagements, we have inquired from the R.W.M. what the business was, but hs could not, or would not, inform us. We hear, however, from outside sources that there is considerable feeling over the reeent election of 3EL.W.M. for the ensuing year, and that the matter is to be gone into exhaustively ere long. While we make it a rule not to interfere in any way with Lodge matters, we sincerely trust that whatever is done in this particular case will be for the benefit of the Craft in general, and St. Andrew’s Lodge in particular. THE EAST. The term ‘East,’ as indicative of the location of authority, is a household word in the lexicon of Masonry, and is ordinarily employed without reflection as to its propriety or its adaptation to the implied mysteries of the Royal Art. As it permeates all grades and systems purporting to be Masonic, and is used to designate the source of honor, dignity, and sovereignty, there must ha.e been a peculiar significance attached to this expressive word, traditionally communicated te the mysteries of antiquity, and whieh has descended to us through intuition and the usages of centuries long past. All the nations of the Orient appear to have reverenced the East with superordinary awe, and even to the present hour the most ignorant Arab of the Desert fails not to turn his face to the East while engaged in his habitual morning devotions. It may be assumed that he does so as an adorer of the rising Sun, but this presumption cannot possibly be correct, Inasmuch as the Moharnme■dan is the most conscientious of monotheists, whose religion is devoid of symbolism, and, were he to be inclined to worship any sidereal object, it would be the Moon, as the crescent is to him the sign of worldly power, in contradiction to the Sun, or rather the Lion and the Sun, our luminary in the constellation Leo, object of national veneration with those he has been tutored to believe to have been heretical seceders- from the true faith. Consequently, the Arabian and Moreseo adoration of the East remains one of those unelucidated religious mysteries. With the Israelites, however, from whom Christianity has imperceptibly borrowed numerous ceremonies, which nevertheless can be traced to be presumptively pagan sources, the reverenoe for the East is both marked and easily accounted for. In the East was deposited the Ark presumed to be the Palladium of Israel’s sovereignty, as in its absence the Chosen People, would cease to be a kingdom, much less an independent nation. As upon Masonry has been bestowed a Hebraic complexion, it is to Jewish usages we must look for the origin of Masonic ceremonials ; for being builders of a symbolic Temple of Solomon we must observe the customs of the ancient craftsmen charged with its physical erection. Worshippers entering a Jewish temple must do so with their faces to the East, consequently through an aperture in the Western wall of the edifice. And this rule should be rigorously observed in the construction of lodge-rooms, otherwise the two pillars and fcb.e Master’s throne are mis-

placed, inasmuch as the blazing star, known to Christianity as the Star of Bethlehem, or rather of Beth-El, the house of God, can alone diffuse its guiding rays from that quarter of the celestial sphere. Herein then have we a sufficient cause for Masonic reverence of the East)- the source of Light, the locality of Strength (authority), and the shrine of Wisdom ; a trinity figuratively combined in the person of the Master, presumptive representative of Solomon, who, in turn, is invested with a symbolic character in various relations as he appears a monarch or a sage. GRAND LODGE OF VICTORIA. A special communication of the Grand Lodge of Victoria was held at the Athenaeum (Hall, Melbourne, on the 3rd November, for the purpose of installing the M.W.G.M. (elect) Bro. the Hob. J. B. Patterson, M.L. A. Upwards of 200 Masons were present to witness the imposing ceremony, whieh wan carried out with all the attendant circum--stances of so important an occasion. Representatives were also present from the following Grand Lodges,' viz.: NewSoath Wales, Columbia, Montana, Oregon, Bulgaria, -Canada, Colon, Cuba, Wisconsin, British Columbia, South Australia, Indiana, Arkansas. and. others. The banquet in the evening was ft sumptuous affair, and was also largely attended. ~ GENERAL TIDINGS. The Masonic Benefit Association of Clay, ton, Illinois, is in a very prosperous condi'tion. During’the year ended June last, it paid away 28,224 dollars, making a total of payments since its establishment of 119,025 dollars. The annual festival of the Lodge ‘ Roque Perez ’ of Bueno3 Ayres took place in October last. There was a very large attendance, and £4O was collected for local* charities. According to the Rivista Masonica del Peru,’ the Jesuits are still’ opposing the Craft in every possible way.. We are glad, however, that our. Peruvian brethren are holding their own, and continue to maintain Masonic schools throughout the country. It is only by the diffusion of knowledge that the bigotry of the Church of Rome can be upset. THREE VERSES; The Hebrew Leader publishes the: following three verses from Isaac Leeser’s .translation of the Bible : ’ ‘ 1. And he set up the pillars for the porch of the Temple, and he set up the* right pillar and he called its name Yachins and he set -up the left pillar and called ita name Bbaz.— I. Kings, vii, 12. . - ' .

*'■’ 2. Then they said unto him. Do say Shibboleth ; but when he said Sibboletb, and was not able to pronounce ifr correctly, they laid hold of him and slew him on the passages of the Jordan, and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and twothousand.—Judges, xii, 6i 3. And Zillah, she also bore Tubal Cain, an artificer in every article of copper and iron; and the sister of Tilbal Cain was Naamah.—Gen. iv, 22. = : t <