Newspapers / Masonic Journal (Greensboro, N.C.) / May 26, 1876, edition 1 / Page 2
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2 THE MASONIC JOUENAL Abuse of Freemasonry. We revert to the subject we dealt with under this title in our issue of the 18th ult. We then noticed an attack on Free masonry, made in the columns of a Bel fast journal, byonewhovras described, in a somewhat elaborate editorial, as “a valued and honourable correspondent.” We did not, of course, doubt the said correspondent's value, nor did we for a moment question h;s being honourable. We pointed out, however, that the series -of articles he was then entering upon were likely to prove a very perfect iB lustration of the class of writing which is commonly known as “twaddle.” We even went a little out of our w'ay, and mentioned the only people who, in our ■opinion, would be likely to appreciate the writer’s peculiar sty le. Since then we have received copies of The Weeldy Ex- ■amine?-and Ulster Observer for the 18th and 2bth ult., and the letters they contain from the pen of this ready writer more than confirm the views we gave utterance *to a fortnight since. It will be argued, perhaps, and not without a certain show of reason, that if the letters are of the character we have described, we are honouring them by a ■second notice, beyond their deserts. We hinted, however, that nervous people are ■often disconcerted by a false charge again ■and again repeated. The views they have long held become more and more unsettled, till, at length., reason is over powered by sheer impudence. This must be our apology for ieverting to this at tack—this and'the evidence the writer has since furnished of his ignorance and profound stupidity. This “ valued and honourable corres pondent,” who, we are further told in his opening letter, is “talented and respeot- ■ed,” ai'.nounced, with becoming modesty, '“that he was tolerant to a fault,"’ yet he is abusive in the last degree. He is “charitable in the fullest and best sense of the word,’ yet apparently is he noth ing if not vindictive. He knows “no distinction of sector party,” yet his best ■efforts are being directed towards ex^oit- ing hatred between the Roman Catholic and Protestant inhabitants of Belfast. But the simulation of our antagonist is ■comparatively of little moment; it is his assertions which concern us most, In the third of the series of letters we are told, that in all probability “there is a great future before our trade.'’ The war In Spain is over. Cuba will soon be pac ified. The United States are slowly but surely recovering from the effects of the late Civil war, and the American trade ■of Ulster “will soon know lively times.” Ihere is, again, a magnificent opening for pushing Belfast waie.s in Japan. Foreign competition, however, is the great thorn in the side of Belfast. Not that foreign competitors have any means or material at their di.sposal. On the contrary, “for eign flax spinning -is not spinning. For.-, eign yarns are not yarns.” Foreign flax ■spinners “work their machinery till it is decrepid.” “They dwarfand demoralize the workers, and buy their flax from ten to twenty percent dearer.” And yet, in the teeth of all thes-e disadvantages, foreign linen finds an excellent market in Belfast or elsewhere. We have already we ate not posted in the fluctua- iionsof^ trade in Belfast or elsewhere. We are not in a position therefore to ex amine these statements. We simply note And what, think our readers, is them the root of all this evil V The flax trade is in the hands of the Protestants, and the Protestants are all Freemasons. Ffee^ masonry “does what it likes with the trade.” “It is the corruption and can cer -which are consuming the very vitals of the trade.” “For a dozen years or more you (i. e., Freemasonry) have held the trade in your viper clasp, and now you have it as nearly strangled as it was when the incompetents, your forerunners, had it alm.-^st garroted (sic) in ’38.” Here we pause for a moment, partly in order to recover our equanimity, partly to trace the argument, which is apparently as follow's: The Belfast linen tra.le is in a bad W'ay, but has a fine future before it, only foreign competition is a thorn in its side. Foreign linen is worthless, yet ;t finds a market in Belfast in preference to the linen of nativ-e manufacturers, because the Belfast manufacturers are Protest ants, and the Protestants are Freemasons. Ergo, Freemasonry has rnined’the trade of Belfast. We cannot say we by any means see the force of this so called argu ment. We imagine there must be an “undistributed middle” somewhere, that the major and minor premises, if there be any, must have gone off at a tangent, and consequently that the conclusion is a lit tie out of joint. This, however, is all w'e have been able to make out of the first two columns of the third letter. The Belfast trad^e is in a bad way. It might be better. But the manufacturers are all Protestants, and the Protestants all Freemasons. Verily this is logic gone mad. But there is more yet to come. The higher mill employes are Protestants and soon become Freemasons and Orange men. Thus “they are a happy family of mill employes, all of one caste and colour, all moulded in the one matrix—the mat rix of Freemasonry; all reduced to the one dull, dead, soulless level of debased Freemason uniformity.” True they were born with certain individualities, but io the crucible of Freemasonrv the hetero geneous individualities are fused into a homogeneous whole.” This last sentence reads very prettily. “Freemasonry is the Rarey w'hich tames them all down to the Lodge level.” They are loyal, in the first instance, to the Lodge, and then any superfluous loyalty that may remain is exhibited towards the mill and its mas- tei'- This 13 Masonic Trades Unionism. It excludes Catholics that “the Lodge may reign aristooiatically.” And the mill employe may do as he likes. He may go out on a “bender” in the evening, and the overseer—w'e beg pardon, the "‘surveilla'nt—yrWl take no heed of his in capacity for work the next day He need not, or he does not study the moral econ omy of flax-growing countries, or the ge ographical distribution of flax. He has no time, in fact. He must attend his Freemason and Orange lodges. He must frequent bars, chaff barmaids, play bil liards, and go in for bicycling, hundred yard spurts, betting, and other weakness es of human nature. Moreover, he draws his salary without study, and even with out work. TIibs it is the flax trade is depressed, and foreign competitors have it all their own way in the market of Belfast.” So, at least, says our “talented and respected correspondent” of The Weekly Examiner and Ulster Observer in his third letter, and he is an “honoura ble” man, Our amiable correspondent in his fouith letter is not more illogical, for that W'ere impossible, but he is a wee bit more violent in the language he uses. This perhaps is due to his exaltation, in the interval between writing the two letters, to the degree of R.A.M., for he is at the pains to introduce us to the “Royal Arch Confraternity.” But, as “whoso exalt eth himself shall be abased,” we have hardly had time to realize the new status when we rapidly descend below the level of the drunkard, “An incurable drunk ard is not an efficient employs. But a .son is worse.” The drunkard is “said to be ‘nobody’s eoefny but his own.” But the Freemason “is the friend of his broth er of the craft, and of none other.” It will be seen that we are advancing in our argument—slowly, it is true. Yet is it a comfort to Know that we are advancing, and, accordingly, we pause for a moment to sum up the case as it now stands. Bel fast trade is in a bad way. It may be better if foreign competition will cease to he a thorn in its side. Foreign linen is worthless, but it finds a market in Bel fast, because the Belfast manufacturers are Protestants and Freemasons. The mill employes are Protestant Freemason Orangemen who play billiards, chaff bar maids, &c* &c., to the exclusion of stud3' and often also of work. Though mem bers of the Royal Arch Confraternity, they are worse than inouiable drunkards. Thus it is that Freemasonry is ruining the Belfast linen tiade., We ought to be getting a little nervous at finding our selves below the level of incurable drunk ards, but, strange to say, we feel quite lively. The damnation—(N. B, We are not swearing)—of Freemasonry by this “talented and respected” correspondent is producing quite an exhilarating effect And thus animated, we plunge inconti nently into his fifth letter. Happily, our summary of it need be but brief. The writer begins by lamenting the hard fate of Belfast Catholics, who are excluded from all employment in mills, and t ave only the arts, the .professions, the Civil Service, to fall back upon. For this, by some wonderful hanky-panky we do not pretend to understand, Freemasonry i.'s made responsible. “God knows the struggle for existence with many Catho lic families is often sore, hard, trviiig ; when to that is added the penalties and disabilities which Pi'eemasonry imposes on them it becomes almost intolerable, almost unendurable.” Intoleiable and unendurable have much the same mean ing, but when a man is writing for effect the multiplication of adjectives often stands in good stead. Then follows a picture of the striking contrast between the flax trade as it was in the good old days and as it is under the domination of Freemasonry. Before the American civil war the Catholic flax trade flourished. When that struggle began it gave a great impetus to the linen trade, and the Pro testant Freemason Orangemen started new' mdls, and we presume we are to in-, fer they have continued ever since to work with such a will that now, it seems, they have the whole linen trade in their hands. Then came the riots of 1864, which “was another of the break necks of the Catholic employes.” Since then the P. F. 0, brotherhood have gone from bad to worse, and have ended by usurping the despotic regulation of the trade in general. And then the writer asks, And W'hat has this "weakly-strong, strongly-weak despotism done for the trade? It has led it from blunder to blunder, from disaster to disaster. And what has it done for the mills it directs ? The share list will tell that. It h.as filled ' re- le” journals !e flourished, sentence is worthy in every respect talented and respecte-l oorresm„,i ‘ whose fifth letter appears in The^T' Observer and Northern Star. ^ It is a great pity this “talented and speoted,’ this “valued and hunourahls» correspondent of the Belfast should have written so much to so purpose. The gist ofl,is so-called ar ment appears to be—Before the Amf' can 'war the flax trade -was in the In j of the Catholics, and Belfa.st Since then Protestantism has a despotism over the trade of Bdfjj. and everything has gone or is goini !! the had. Protestants are Freemason and thus it is that Freema.sonry k (jj root of the whole evil. We need hi,J trouble ourselves to analyze this ua;. able abortion of an argnment. Then other places in the world be.sides ] where Freemasonry largely preva> trade flourishes. If it is to be perraittd to this correspondent to associate theiii'. pression of trade in Belfast wilh the bane, fill influence of Freemasonry, we mar fairly connect the pro,sperity of tradeij other places with the benign influenceol our Order. In the united States there are over halt a Million of Masons, and we have yet to learn that the States are nnprosperous. M; eats I fa!’, United 'la.sonry i( powerful both in England and Scotland, in Germany and in France, but we never yet heard it associated with the flnetna. tions of trade. It is true that trade ei- ercises a certain rnfluence fni' good or for evil over Freemasonry, in this respectat least—if trade is prosperous, the large body of tradesmen who are Freemasons get their share of the prosperity ; if trade is depressed, the Freemason tradesijien suffer in proportion. But the principles of Freemasonry have nothing in common with trade. Freemasonry is a kind of universal religion, and whoso believesia it and acts up to its principles will make an upright man and a good citizen. This our correspondent, ifhe be a Mason, must know, if he is not a Mason, this long-winded tirade of his is worthless. As we said in our previous article, why has not this valued and honourable cor respondent the manliness to come forward and say boldly—I am a Roman Catholic; the Romish Priesthood tell me to hate Freemasonry, and I hate it accordingly. This would not be a logical hati'ed, or consistent with the true principles o! Ohristianity, which is the religion oflove but the world would understand all aboiii it. That this is the real motive for hu attack on our Order is evident enough. He may say that he is tolerant to a fault, that he is charitable, that he knows no distinction of sect or party. But those who read between the lines will see that it is the deadly hatred of Roman Catho licism for Freemasonry which is at the bottom of this furious onslaught. If tie writer is W'lse, as well as talented andre- spected, he will pull up sharp and wrue no more nonsense. The more he writes the more ridiculous he makes himself. For ourselves, we may fairly pray, "Oh book I , . .. that mine eneray would write a every post in Its gift with incompetency-The jjjore we have of these letters the , . / * ’ en 0 ows a '’enteuoe ! jjjgpgj, gjjjjj] .^^,g j,jgg {jjg eBtimation o. which we are sorry to say we do not un- ' the public. Therefore, if the five that derstand. This may be owing to a cer- | have already appeared become fifty, or tain du ness on onr part, or to the obsou-; g^g^ fi,g hundred, so much the better ntyofthe writer 8 language. Whatever ■ ,,in'it be for Freemasonry. Whether le cause, we simply quote it ; our read- ; the readers of these two Belfast journals ers must interpret for themselves. “Be ing incompetent, it knows not what is competent, and if what was competent came across it, it would clash with its incompetency, and to differ from the des pot means decapitation—otherwise dis- charge. If these men had any moral ■sense they would go and commit ‘happy will rejoice in this rigmarole if it be con tinued much longer is a matter tliatcoii- Ereeriioson s cerns us Chronicle. not.—London hardened, confirmed; inveterate Freema-1 despatch.’” We frankly admit this sen- A tablespoonful of molasses 1 bed time will relieve constipation. Chiokweed boiled in sweet milk anl drank freely will cure the dysentery.
Masonic Journal (Greensboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 26, 1876, edition 1
2
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