MASONIC.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 870, 2 November 1888, Page 7

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 rvents of all kinds likely to be of interest to nembers of the' craft. All correspondence for this column to be addressed to the Masonic Editor, New Zealand Mail. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Directory.— The publicatiou was discontinued in 1886. 8.8. (Dunedin).—We shall be glad to hear from you. O.G. (Marfcon).—Your contribution is unsuited for the Masonic column. FAVOURS RECEIVED. Victorian Freemason, Sydney FreemasoD, El Siglo (Lisbon), Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Switzerland, Masonic Review and The Kneph. - y. NEW ZEALAND PACIFIC LODGE. The regular monthly meeting of this Lodge was held at the Freemasons’ Hall on Monday, 22nd insti There were a very large number of members and visitors present, and the First and Secpnd Degrees were worked. Some further- business was also transacted and the Lodge adjourned at 10 p.m. ST. ANDREW’S LODGE. - The regular-Monthly Meeting of this Lodge took placq on Thursday, 25th inst. Owing to the. unavoidable absence of the R.W.M. the chair was occupied by P.M, Bro. Carr, who conferred the Third Degree on a candidate. The attendance of members was above the average and numerous visiting brethren were also present. MASONRY AND -DRUID ISM. It appears to be somewhat remarkable that, while engaged in an endeavour to deduce an origin for Freemasonry in the Mysteries of the Ancient World, our explorers into antiquity, giving' prominence to speculations touching its derivation from the occult ritualism of Egypt, of Greece and of Asia Minor, should have omitted consideration of Druidism, whose spirit, dogmas and ceremonies bear a most striking resemblance to those maxims professed by our speculative Craftsmen. The Celtic Druids undoubtedly migrated from Central. Asia, bringing with them into Europe a creed of pure- monotheism and originally of unexampled morality. In fact, as late as the days of Plato, the Greek philosophers frankly admit that thence were derived all foundations for correct ethical systems, while the Christian Father, Clement of Alexandria, commends the Druids as hav. ing been orthodox in religion, that is, as far as their dogmas were concerned. Beyond this we. unfortunately know comparatively nothing regarding the practices of the Druids, no their monuments, still extant in Wales aud in Brittany in abundance, are devoid of carvings or inscriptions, their cromlechs or dolmens being counterparts of rough ashlars, which have served primarily as altars, idols, or tombstones, for all we moderns can ascertain. The Druidical creed 'was founded upon,a triple basis—one God ; the immortality of • the soul, and rewards and puuißhments in a future, life. The Supreme Being :was called in their sacred tongue Esus, meaning Lord, but was more popularly designated as Teut, (God), whence we derived the word, afterward applied t i a people—Teutons, sons or followers of Teut, conserved by their de- - scendants to the present day through describing themselves asTeutche or Deutsche. The entire /Druidical catechism seems to have been compressed into three brief maxims : Serve God ; Abstain from-Evil; and Bo Bravo, y, The Druids,were divided into three grades, the lowest—Bards, apprentices as it were, chanting the poems in which they had been instructed to enhance the dignity of religious ceremonials the second : prophets divining future events from present phenomena, and then the highest degree—the Druid proper, who was at'once priest, lawgiver, soldier and schoolmaster, whose life was consecrated to the Btudy of physical science and to the instrnction of novices in the mysteries. Unlike a majority of the Aryans, emphatically sun and .fire worshippers, the Druids appear, in their rites, to.have reverenced the moon, counting time by lunar observations, in preference to the Sun as emblem y for their deity, therein anticipating the

Egyptian!., who discarded Osiris for_lsis, thereby exhibiting their adoration for-the female sex aa superior to the ™ alo J“ eetual aud moral strength. Tllo Draldl influence varied proportionately aa the Romans advanced in conquest s still.it lingered until finally suppressed under the iron neol of Charlemagne. . . QUITE TRUE, 'o - the Voile of Masonry declares Masonry to be the labour of a lifetime, still it neglects to indicate any manner for proper consumption. under our existing system, of so long a period in profitable toil. From the interest taken by the generality of Craftsmen in the intellectual stndy of the Royal Art, it is fair to presume that a yoar of application would exhaust their energies, while as. to the cognate sciences, dependent upon Masonry, they appear to interest them not in the least. AH an ambitious neophyte seems to trouble himself about is a literal .mastery of the ritual, whereby he can be advanced to the Oriental chair, with the possibility of holding an office in the Grand Lodge. .This aim attained, he hides his Masonic light beneath a bushel, and, as far aa mental progress is concerned, falls into an unremitted slumber. The Voice of Masonry speaks the truth, still It fails to explain that the literature of Masonry is as boundless as it is uncultivated. INFORMATION. It is not generally known that the Austrian Empire doeß not tolerate Freemasonry, and still there is a Masonio paper published in Vienna. Of course in that realm of darkness, Russia, . Masonry is proscribed, while in Sweden and Norway the highest honours are accorded only to those who are Craftsmen, the king being the hereditary Grand Master in his capacity of head of the Order of Charles X 111. ■' WHITE-APRONED BROTHERS. Come, cease from your labours, Ye white-aproned neighbours, And answer my words^— Tell ns. Who are ye ? />' ‘ ■ • We are friends of humanity, 1 Hating profanity, Spurning all vanity, Children ok Peace— / Men who can feel All onr own need of kindness. And bless the Great God, \\ Who hath lightened onr : blindness.’ Tell us, What do ye ? • .’ ‘ By precept, example, We’re building a temple, Fair, lofty and ample, For Him whom we serve— Following the plans . ' That our Master doth give ns, And amply repaid t When his servants receive us.’ And What do you work with ? . ‘The Gauge and the Gavel, £ The Plumb, Square, and Level,' Aud then aa we travel The Trowel wo'hold — Skilfully these, ■. -z \ At first we’re inducted — * Obediently these, Jn the way we’re instructed.’ Your timbers, what are they ? ‘The blocks that we quarry, And timbers so heavy, * Onr hands Bhape and carry, Those Ashlars are men ; Rough Ashlars they are— ; Bat hewed, marked and garnished, By precepts divine, Oar task will be finished.’ Your resting, when is it ? ;■ •We look for no leisure, • •' We sigh for no pleasure, We covet no treasure, Till Saturday Wage 3 and joys, And a rest without breaking, Wait for us then, In the home that we’re seeking.’