A Roman Catholic's Notion Of Freemasonry.

rally , are so ill-informed on the subject that they blindly adopt the dictum of the Jesuits , who , to suit then- own purposes , procured its condemnation by the Bulls of two Popes more than suspected of a favourable leaning towards that subtle confraternity . In Mr . Robertson ' s dedication to the Romanist Primate of Ireland , the Most Reverend Dr . Dixon , Archbishop of Armagh , he gives his reasons for publication , ancl states : —

Iu combating the religious and the social errors of secret societies , I am acting , I believe , iu the spirit of the memorable address of the Prelates of Ireland , lately referred to by a very respectable Protestant member of the Dublin Corporation , and ¦ which bears the date of Thurles , 9 th of September , 1850 . Iu this address it is said " that the youth of Ireland shall , with God ' s

blessing , be saved from the taint of a mischievous philosophy by a thoroughly Catholic education . And this is one of the grand objects of a Catholic University . " And , again , the venerable prelates declare , " In the revolutions which recently agitated tho Continent , who were everywhere the apostles of rebellion , the standard-bearers of anarch ? Were they not students of colleges and

uniy versities , iu which , according to the modern fashion , everything is taught but religion ? God forbid that so baneful a system should ever take root in our country . " Should the sovereign of these realms ever have to invoke the loyalty of the well-disposed against the designs of turbulent men , the youth brought up in a Catholic "University would be found iu the front rank of

the defenders of order . " "A Christian University should carefully eschew the party politics of the day ; but it should , at the same time , strenuously uphold and proclaim the eternal principles of social order . In other words , it should preach the Gospel in its integrity , and in all its applications , as determined by holy Church .

" The important subject of the following lecture I have endeavoured to discuss with the requisite moderation ; and I have striven to reconcile the claims of charity with those of truth . " I beg leave here to tender my sincere thanks to the eminent divine , who has had the kindness to furnish me with a valuable analysis of the Papal Bulls respecting secret societies . It will be found in the Appendix . "

We have before heard of the Synod of Thurles , on which we commented in THE EEEEJIASOXS' MAGAZINE some years since , and have no reason to modify our opinion on the clocumen . which emanated from the Romish hierarchy on that occasion . The paragraph which alludes to the loyalty of the youth brought up in a [ Roman ] Catholic University

, comes at a very critical period , when ive remember the sway that the prelates of that church obtain over the minds and actions of its alumni , as ivell as the recent visit to Ireland of Dr . Hughes , the Romanist Archbishop of New York , who , disguisedly it is true , but unequivocally advocated treason ! There is also

another very ominous circumstance , ivhich has been often commented on by the public press , viz .: the custom amongst ultramontane Romanists of drinking the health of the Pope before that of the Queen . We believe this was done Avhen Cardinal Wiseman was feted in Dublin , and how repugnant such a

practice is , how degrading for the sovereign , the fountain of honour in her own dominions , to be ranked second to a foreign power , Shakespeare has ivell expressed when he makes King John exclaim : — " — ¦ That no Italian priest Shall tithe or toll in our dominions ; But as we , under heaven , are supreme head ,

So , under him , that great supremacy , Where we do reign , we will alone uphold , Without the assistsnce of a mortal hand : So tell the Pope ; all reverence set apart , To him , and his usurp'd authority . " If the loyalty of individuals can he judged hy thenactsthe Ereemasons must be more devoted to

then-, sovereign than those who own a divided allegiance . In every branch of Ereemasonry the Queen ' s health is the first proposed , and ever most rapturously received . The next sentence is unaccountable . We , who are Anglicans , cannot understand that a University should

" preach the Gospel in its integrity , " our idea being that its object is to teach and not to preach . The latter is , with us , for those who are in holy orders , nor can we call to mind any particular instances , in Romish Church History , where Universities , i . e . as corporate bodieshave assumed the office of preachers .

, It might do for nonconformist educational establishments to allow their candidates for the , so-called , ministry to preach , but in our branch of the Hol y Catholic Church there is no such license , nor ,, until now , did we know such laxity existed amongst Romanists . Our remarks on the analysed Papal Bullsadded in

, the Appendix , will follow in the order presented to us hy the lecturer , Mr . Robertson . The lecture itself is commenced by a kind of synopsis of what it is to he , and , to deal fairly with its author , we must quote it very extensively , remarking only on such portions as our space will admit .

He says that , — "Severed members of thelrish clergy having requested me to treat of secret societies , which are now the curse and bane of European nations , I have begun with the venerable parent of all secret societies , the Masonic Order .

But , before entering upou the subject , I wish to make a few preliminary remarks . "In the first place , our Protestant brethren , not being interdicted by the authorities iu their different communions from becoming members of this society , incur not by such a step the same responsibility as Catholics who join it . In the second place , many excellent Catholics , on

being made acquainted with the judgments of the Church on Preemasonry , havo given up all connection with the Order . In the third place , there are in all countries , estimable individuals belonging to the lower degrees of Masonry , and who are not cognizant of its ultimate tendency , which I shall show to be anti-christian and antisocial . And lastlthis remark is especiall licable

y , y app to these three countries—England , Scotland , and Ireland , where Masonry has generally , but not always , retained a more innocuous character . "In our East and West India colonies , where hospitality is , as it were , a necessity of life , this society is found to possess great attractions . Aud so , likewise , in that noble profession of armswhere fz-iendships are so warm

, and generous , this institution is thought to knit closer the ties of fellowship . " Thus an English or Irish Catholic young gentleman , finding , in Protestant England for example , Masonry in its lower grades comparatively harmless , proceeds to Belgium , expecting to find iu that very Catholic country the Order iu a most satisfactory condition . Tet it is precisely

because Belgium is such a Catholic country , that the bad elements of society there have settled in Masonic lodges . The depravity of those lodges may be estimated by & single fact . A few years ago , they were shameless enough to present a golden pen to the most infamous writer of the present age , the late M . Eugene Sue . So the Eng lish or Irish Catholic young gentleman , who has , as I have supposed , Aisited these Belgian lodges , will return to his