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To ADVERTISERS . THE Circulation of THE FREEMASON being now at the rate oincaxly Half-a-million per annum , it offers peculiar facilities to all who advertise . It is well known that the Fraternity of Freemasons is a large and constantly increasing body , mainly composed of the influential and educated classes of society ; and as The Freemason is now the accepted organ of the Brotherhood in the United Kingdom , and also enjoys an extensive sale in the colonies and foreign parts , its advantages as an advertising medium can scarcely be overrated . For terms apply to GEORGE KENNING , 2 , 3 , & 4 , LITTLE BRITAIN , LONDON , E . C .

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NOTICE . —?—On and after October \ st , the Subscription to THE FREEMASON will be \ os . per annum , post-free , payable in advance . Vol . I ., bound in cloth 4 s . 6 d . Vol . II ., dilto 7 s . 6 d . Reading Cases to hold 52 numbers ... 2 s . 6 d .

Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

< a » - BIRTH . STEWART—On the 25 th ultimo , at 77 , Renfield-street , Glasgow , the wife of Bro . Thomas Stewart , R . W . M . Thistle and Rose Lodge , No . 73 , of a son .

Answers To Correspondents.

Answers to Correspondents .

—» - — AU communications for THE FREEMASON should be written legibly , on one side of the paper only , and , if intended for insertion in the current number must be received not later than 10 o ' clock a . m . on Thurdays , unless in very special cases . The name and address of every writer must be sent to us in confidence .

W . T . K . —The copy sent to us bears the imprint of Higginbotham and Co ., Madras , with a written addendum : " Copies can be obtained of Messrs . Triibner , publishers , 60 , Paternostcr-row . " BRO . J ULIUS A . PEARSON " , F . S . A . —We have no objection to quote the remarks of the editor of Notes and

Queries ; but do not desire to re-open the discussion upon the Prince ' s claims : — " It is only justice to Prince Rhodocanakis to explain lh . it he has exhibited proof of the most satisfactory character , that , not only in his letters of naturalisation , but elsewhere , Her Majesty ' s Government has duly recognised him as 'II . I . II . [ he Prince Demetrius Rhodocanakis . '"

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Several reviews and communications , including reports of Temple Lodge ( 101 ) , St . Luke ' s ( 144 ) , Zetland ( 511 ) , and Joppa Mark Lodge ( 5 , S . C ) , arc unavoidably deferred until next week .

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TheFreemason,SATURDAY , OCTOIIKR S , 1870 .

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Tin : FKIUSMASON is published on Saturday Morning . s in time for the early trains . The price of Till : FUKIIMASON- is Twopence per week : annual subscription , 10 s . ( payable in advance ) . All communications , letters , & c , to be addressed to the EDITOR , 2 , 3 , and 4 , Little Jlritain , E . C . The Editor will pay careful attention to all MSS . entrusted to himhut . cannot undertake to return them unless accompanied by postage stamps .

From Refreshment To Labour.

FROM REFRESHMENT TO LABOUR .

THE season of Masonic work in the Metropolis has again returned , and as lodge after lodge re-opens , let us look around and survey the prospects of our winter

campaign . In the first place , there can be little doubt that Freemasonry is just as popular as ever in London , if not more so , indeed , than it has been for many years

past . One of the clearest proofs of tin ' s will be found in tlie fact , that the failure or collapse of a Metropolitan lodge is now

looked upon as an event impossible , for were any lodge within the bills of mortality to evince even symptoms of numerical

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weakness , dozens—we h * n almost said hundreds—of brethren wouiu gladly avail themselves of the chance to nurse it into fresh life and vigour . We have , therefore , no

reason to urge our brethren in town to increased exertions or to greater activity in extending the membership of the Craft ; on the contrary , we desire to record our

conviction that some of the lodges might , with advantage to tlie Order in general and to themselves in particular , exercise greater discretion in the selection of their

candidates . In a society which sets up a high standard of morality , the admission of corrupt and vicious men is an anomaly which cannot be too strongly deprecated ,

and in a Fraternity where the science of symbolism is so much studied and unfolded , nothing but ridicule can be gained by the initiation of men who habitually drop their

" h s , ' and are otherwise so densely ignorant as to be incapable of mental improvement . Ifthelodgeselected Masters who thoroughly

understood the " value and importance of Freemasonry , " and if the brethren generally were more impressed with a sense of the real distinction which should attach to the

very name of " treemason , we should undoubtedly be spared the pain of occasionally seeing in our ranks men with whom it is a degradation to associate , because

their souls are steejied in falsehood and fraud . A great responsibility rests upon those , who , without due inquiry , introduce such wolves into the Masonic fold ; and the

evil is immeasurably increased by the fact that in English lodges itis extremely difficult to get rid of those characters whose acts reflect the utmost disgrace upon society . We must

have a law , which shall enable us to purge the body Masonic of such unworthy members , and it behoves us to be more than

ever upon our guard during the present season , not to add to their number by the introduction of men with whose antecedents we are unfamiliar .

One of tlie points which we desire to direct attention is this , that the claims of our charities should be brought home to the sympathies of everv Mason , ancl that no lodge

should separate after the winter ' s operations without having done something for one or other of the great Masonic Institutions of England . With shame and sorrow be it

recorded that there are too many lodges , and too many brethren , utterly oblivious to those claims ; utterly negligent in tlie performance of those paramount duties which they have

solemnly undertaken to observe . Tlie burden of supporting the charities is borne year after year by substantially the same men , festival after festival comes round ,

and yet the great heart of the Craft seems untouched , and the good work is carried onward by tlie faithful few . Is this as it should be , Brother Masons of England ?

Are you content to fold your arms and sleep , while the cries of suffering humanity fill the air ? Helpless infancy and failing

age appeal for succour , and the aid that you can fairly give must not be withheld . We have always maintained the prin-

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ciple , and we shall ever maintain it , that the deserving Mason , who has struggled honourably in the battle of life , who in his own day and generation has relieved the

wants of others , and who has in other respects proved his zeal and attachment to the Craft—we say , that such a man must not be deserted in his old age , nor

abandoned to the dreaded chances of poverty and despair . And , in like manner , we advocate the cause of the orphan and the widow , who ma }' , indeed , be regarded as

the sacred legacies of our deceased brethren , when those brethren are known to have been true and trusty servants of the

Order . We commend this important subject to our readers , and trust that the ensuinjr season will witness a vast accession to

the lists of subscribers to the Masonic charities . Instead of hundreds , let them be counted by thousands ; instead of donations from fifty or a hundred lodges and

chapters , let us have a free-will offering from all on the roll—our colonial and our foreign lodges included—because all are eligible to participate in the advantages of our schools

and annuity funds , and all should assist in the good work . The time is now rapidly approaching for the celebration of the various festivals of those admirable

institutions . In January next , the first will be held , on behalf of the " Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Aged Freemasons and the Widows of Freemasons , "

under the presidency of Colonel Francis Burdctt , Provincial Grand Master for Middlesex—a brother who is deservedly popular , not only in his own province , but

amongst the metropolitan Craft at large . We anticipate a " good time " for the Charities next year ; but in order to secure

this result we must go from refreshment to labour . Every one must give , be it ever so trifling an amount—but whatever be given , let it be contributed freely .

The gist , therefore , of our observations to the brethren is briefly this : Support the charities of tlie Order , and be careful as to the admission of candidates . Attention to

these two points will do more than fifty homilies , or five hundred dissertations on the antiquity of Freemasonry , to strengthen tlie Order both internally and externally .

Not that wc decry antiquarian investigation and research ; but there is such a thing as losing ourselves in abstraction , when plain duties lie neglected around us . It would

afford to the world a more tangible proof of the reality of Freemasonry were we to raise funds sufficient to meet the wants of all our benevolent institutions , than if some

enthusiast were to prove that Adam was a Mason , or that Noah , Shorn , and Japhet held a lodge in the ark , while naughty Mam was kept outside tlie door in the rain .

Deeds , not words , will best serve the cause ; and with this conviction we once more call our readers from refreshment to labour .

wishing them pleasant hours in lodge , and pleasant memories of the good which we are sure they arc ready and willing to achieve .