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“8 tut PRzse as unzmnmxm or ova amextigs.\ L df as MAR. BLODGEIT’S DEFENCE [From the Vermont Eatminary.] Mr. editor-As a duty which I owe to myself and to the public, I wish through the medium of your paper to make such cepted But upon recewmg the first de- gree,Isuspected the deception whichIhave 'since Tound had been practiséd upon me ; [for 1 then suspected, and am' mow\ con: vinced, that no good can result from ma- sonry, and that no good is intended; and - a communication of facts as h. T so expressed myself at the time, to the foundation in truth, unvarnished by any colouring, dictated by the purest princi- ples of propriety, and consonant with the first and most iminatable law of our na- ture-self-defence. Previous to April 13th, which was the day of the regular communication of the . lodge in this town; I was furnished with | the following charges by a commitfee ap- pointed by said lodge, to which 1 was re- quired to plead, to wit: Ist \Saying that the, book entitled, + Morgan's trations of, masonry,' was true.'\-2d “aaymg that the ceremonies of, lgndmg man arotind a lodge‘rnom, nearly divest- ed of his clothing, hood-winked, with a cable-tow ground his neck; were simple and foolish mummeries.'\-But on ap- earing before the lodge to plead to the ifivregoing charges, I had to encounter one of the principles of masonry in the shape of duplicity and deceit, by having an en- tire new charge preferred, to which I was required to plead, aside from those com- municated by the committee, to wit: \ that I had so far forgotten my obliga- tions as a mason, as to say that mason- ry was a vile institution, and in oth- er ways traduced its good name, and that before the enemies of masonry.\ The two first of which charges I ad- mitted as strictly true, and the last I a+ mitted as true for the sake of the trial, and plead justification to the whole- which Justthuntwn I rested upon the fol- lowing preinises, in substance :-I justifi- ~ ed myself for saying that \ Morgan's il- lustrations of masonry\ were true, be- cause they are true, and because they were so acknowledged by this same lodge, when the book was first brought into this hall, late in the fall of 1826, by a Mr. Cram, an express from New-York, for the purpose of putting lodges and members on their guard agdinst imposi- [older memfiers, who assured me that ma- sonty was a ' progressive science, and at- tained only by degrees,\ and by perse- vering, that I should be pleased with it. Accordingly, with these assurances I was induced to take the two succeeding de- grees, the fellow-craft and master mason, & three < honorary' degrees, the Roman ea- yet I was unable to find the promised treasure. But being determined to seek it when I should have become more ac- quainted with it, as it was incredible to me; that some of the members should ex- was some good which I had not. yet dis- covered, I studied the lectures, and atten- ded the communications through the sum- mer and fall, and, at the annual meeting in December, I was elected treasurer, and continued. in that office for two years, which necessarily called me to the meetings more regularly than 1 otherwise should have gone. But, during all this time, I was still dxsqatnsfied wrth the institution, notwithstanding all my endeavours to find something in it to admire. In the fall of 1826, reports were in cir- culation that a Mr. Morgan, of Batavia, N. Y. had been disclosing the secrets of masonry,-and that the masons carried him away, and probably murdered him. Of these reports I beli¢ved nothing, until, i think in the month of November, at a regular communication, while the lodge was called from. labour to refreshment,\ two royal arch masons were examining the book called \ Morgan's illustrations of masonry,\ they looked it through till they came where he says, \ the higher part of this work,\ when one of thein observed, \I guess he is so disposed of that wo shall never be troubled with his gle, union master, and secret monitor, and it out, and beleiving that I should like: press themselves asd they did} unless there}: degrees shall be published in the second [ NORWICH, OHENAQIGO gpgmg‘nm‘ ¥.) WEDNESDAY, mustered, by 'one not authorized to ad- minister oaths, and for unlawful purposes. Because if broken, the penalties of the obligations cannot be inflicted without committing 'the most flagrant breach of [the laws of God and man, and trampling upon that holy religion, which masons 1929. T MasoN1¢ QATHS. To the editors oftheTelc ph- ' to. The subject proposed invites the can- did investigation of sil men. | T address the reader on the supposition that he has taken the obligations of masonry, and still feels their moral obligations . binding JUNE 107 blasphemously assert has masonry for its hand-maid-Betause an cath administer- ed solely for the concealment of its hor- rid principles, the commision of crime, or any unlawful act, from the public, can- not be binding, and should. not be ad- hered to, for the pubhc good requires its publicity. For these reasons \and many others, which might be urged if more were ne- cessary, the oaths are not binding. A man cannot be legally bound to do, or to assent to an unlawful act. He cannot be morally bound to encourage immorality. Nor is he in honour bound to do or to as- 'sent to any act, which is derogatory to. the character of every gentleman and pa- triot. - And I am fully pursuaded, that no man, who feels himelf bound to the extent of these obligations, and if not to the extent, he is not bound at all-can be safely entrusted, as q juryman, with our lives and property, he being a sworn slave to the interests of his ma- sonic brethren. From this view of the subject, then, it will not be surprising to you, that l have expressed myself thus freely in speaking against the principles of the in- stitution. Amongst your members I can nuinber many of my dearest friends ; and to the members generally 1 bear no ill will :- I wish to cherish a reciprocity of good feelings with them, as men and as gentlemen, but not as masons. For the institation I have no fellowship, and -I wish no longer to be a mem- ber. This resulted in my immedi- ate expulsion to my no small gratifica- tion. || CALVIN BLODGETT. Randolph, Vt. 16th April. The masonic and coalition presses are amusing themselves with imaginary suc- | of which determine your character on his conscience. Examine one mo- ment the of your own mind; you are a moral agent, and to kmow. the prmcnple of action which constitutes your agency is of primary importance. Your mental structure is composed of under- standing, heartand will ; those faculties ate: denommatgd the mmd _ the exercises The undemtandmg is a perceptive faculty - The heart is that by which you receive and realize pleasure and pain. The will is an elective faculty ; by it you. choose or refuse. - An object is presented to your understandmg ; perceiving it, your heart is immediately pleased or displeased with it. 'The liberty, power or opportunity to do so, is the liberty of action, and con- stitutes yowa free moral agent. Were it otherwise, man would be a mere machine, and not accountable for his actions. In other words, there is a corresponding unity of those facuitics denominated the mind, the absense of any one of which would not only destroy its liberty, but accountability itself. Any thing and every thing which is opposed to this free- dom of action, is arbitrary to the mind. Restraint and constraint directly or im- mediately is as destructive to the moral freedom in which man was created, as despotism is to republicanism. For if 1 could not perceive objects, I should be neither ple: J nor displeased with then; neither should Fchoose or refuse them. Of course I exercise no agency. For in- stance, if I am constrained contrary to my desire, or will, to perform a certain act, although action itself be not destroyed, yet liberty of conscience and itidependence of mind are taken away. Motive is the governing prmclplo connected with the heart, the spring of action in a moral agent. This being understood, reader, Te VL. - > NUMBER 10; delity. Of this,. sone may dence. Such I refer to the thuty—thud degree, in- which the requisites to makem good mason gre plainly delingated by fa- ther Adam in the east to the candidate at his initiation. © If you ask me, (gays the thrice puissant father Adam,) what are the requisite qualities that a mason must be possessed of to come to the centre of truth, I answer you, you must crush the head of the serpent of ignorance.-- [*' Crush the wretch,\ said Voltaire, who stood at the head of infidelity.] You must shake off the yoke of infant preju- dice concerning the mysteries of, the reigning religion, which worship has been imaginary, and only founded on the spirit of pride which envies to command and be distinguished, and to be at the head of the vulgar, in affecting an exteriour purity, which characterizes a false piety, joined to a desire of acquiring that which is not its own, and is always the subject of this extenour pride and an unalterable source of many disorders ; which being joined t gluttonness, is the daughiel of hypocrisy, and cmploys every matter to satisfy car- nal desires, and raises to those predomi- nant passions, altars, upon which she maintains, without ceasing, this light of iniquity, and sacrifices continually offer- ings to luxury, voluptuousness, hatred, envy, and perjury! Behold, my deaf brother, (continues father Adam,) what you must fight against and destroy, before you can come to the knowledge of the the question next to be decided is, wheth- Behold this Monster which you must congtifer-a serpent which we detest ag an idol that is adored by the idiot and vul- gar under the name of Rerrcron !!!\ these are the requisite qualifications of a good mason, I never possessed them.- You need not, however, reader, wonder at my apostacy from masonry., And if you could soe the end from the bogmnmg of the masonic institution, I think you would also seeede from the same, unless you are now confirined in open mfidelxty. Every man, I assert, is justified in re- nouncing and denouncing such an institu- tion, which allures to the vortex of ruin true, and good, and sovereign happiness ! , (:* Light on masonry,\ page 260.) If cesses over anti-masonry. They even create conflicts that they may have the empty joy of proclaiming fictitious tri- umphs; Lockport it is asserted, has fe- turned to masonic bondage, although an anti-masonic ticket was neither nomina- ted nor run. At Utica, where an anti- er those masonic oaths which you have taken, and the penalties thereunto an- nexed, are not arbitrary principles which do both affect your liberty of action and independence of mind. Repeat youroath from beginning to end, Examine it well in all its bearings, and then say if it does second book,\-at the same time a smile of apparent triumph beamed in each coun- tenance. Upon this I turned to a royal arch mason, who was shortly after elected wor- shipful master of the lodge,'-and inquired what he supposed had become of Morgan 1 -He said, \I- supposé he has had the tion from book-masons, immediately after which, the \check degree\ was intro- duced into this lodge, which was said to have been instituted by the grand lodge of the state of New-York. As a justification to the second charge, 1 afd propels you on to destruction. c Z A SECEDING MASON. <5 l‘he Nashville Republican of We understand that a ren- Dugsr.- May 12, says : that is, © saying that the ceremonies of initiating, passing, and raising a candi- date, are simple and foolish mumimeries.\ «-L nave only to appéal to the sense of propriety and decency of every good citi- zen, whether a mason or not,-I appeal to the good sense of every candid and in- telligent reader, whether it is not abhor- reat to every principle of decency and propriety, for a body of men claiming shy title to respectability, by their de- ceptive promises, to allure an unsuspect- ing individual among them, and there, accordingly to their pretended \ ancient and honourable usages,\ to divest him of his clothing to the last remmant of decen- cy, apparel him in the garb of a malefic- tor, with a halter about his neck, and hood-winked, for the purpose of making him-a member of that institution, which arrogates to itself a ' divine origin,\- whose pretended object is the refresh- ment of the taste and morals of its mem- bers, and:claims to be the \hand-maid of religion.\ A justification to the third and last charge, in which the two former are min- gled, requires a general view of the whole system and practice of masonry. The principles of the institution, until the dis- closures were made by Wm. Morgan, were veiled in the most inscrutable se- crecy, excepting to its deluded members. And to the world, the means by which these secrets wore concealed, was still a mystery. The fact that this institution had for a lenflth of time, meintined iis principles ana secrets inviolate against the . scrutiny of those hot its members, ile almost every other institution had rose and fell, was received as evidence by a credulous world that masonry possessed attributes and qualifications, to which no other institution, excepting clmswmnty, could lay claim. - But the delusion under which the world has so long laboured, is a mistake in the means by which the se- crets and principles of masonty were \con- cealed. ; For while the world supposed the instifution to be shrouded with a man- tle of inspiration, to prevent its pnncl- ples from being polluted by the vulgar gaze of thef‘ummtnted the truth was, penalties of his obligations executed up- on him.\ I asked him why he thought au. . Ife repiied, \my .has just returned from that country.\ His state- ment coming as it did from so prominent a member who I supposed had a better opportunity of getting correct informa- tion on this subject, than I had, mado a lasting impression on my mind, and I have never for a moment since doubted the facts. Since this time the members of this lodge can bear. me witness, that I have not frequented their meetings.- Soon after the above transactions in the lodge-room, the Rev. Mr. B. came into my store, and the conversation soon turn- ed upon the disgraceful transaction at the West, and we were mutually depre- cating the event, and I observed that I had strong reasons for believing that Wim. Morgan had been taken under false pretences, carried away and murdered by freemasons, as a royal arch mason came in, who replied, \admitting it to be the fact, and that it can be substantially prov- ed, still it is my opinion, a. jury cannot be found in the state of New-York that would convict them.\ After hearing the above, and various other statements of high and respectable masons, that « Morgan was a perjured wretch,\ that * he ought to die,\ that © if he is dead he has suffered the just penalties of his obligations,\ and various others of a like nature, 1 resolved on an investigation of its principles, which investigation re- sulted in my ctitire belief, that the dis- graceful outrages upon the laws\of God and our country, in the ahductfion of Win. Morgan, was the spontaneous fruits of the principles, ceremonies and obliga- tions of the institution. And here the question is naturally suggested, whether the masonic caths or obhgatmns are bind- ing upon the recipiantsi-tfo this ques tion 1 have a ready answer, that they are not binding in any sense of the word neither in a lefl'a], moral, nor honorary point of view, -for the followmg fea- sons ;-because the candidate is decéived in the nature of the cath 'heis to take; being assured by the master; \as he ma- geople are preparing themselves for a masonic party has not yet been organized, the Argus says, \ the last nail was driv- en in the coffin of anti-masonry.\ These withering disappointment. 'The fall elec- tion will break, like a thunderbolt, upon them. The falsehoods and proflgncy of the fraternity, will arouse justice and pa- triotism to unwonted action and energy. The ides of November will proclaim a glorious triumph for liberty and law. [Rochester Enquirer. Licut on masonny.-When a box of this work, to appearance one hundred copies, was opened at a store in this vil- lage last week, a by-stander observed, the owner would sustain quite a loss on the books, they being so unsaleable.-- For his information it is proper to state that seventy-four copies were sold in five days-that the first edition of 4000 is all disposed of-that a second edition is in press-and that the work is now under contract to be stereotyped. Is this an indication that the spirit of inquiry is dying away, or that anti-ma- sonry has come to a stand 1 Will people at this scarce time for cash pay $6,000 for a work for which they feel no interest 1- And another and a more important con- clusion is, they have not done with ma- sons, neither will they be until the insti- tution is dissolved. Too late will ma- sons see that the building up of a par- ty is not the object of ant-masons, but the pulling down of one. Let no one fatter himself that anti-masonry. will become extinct until every secret socie- ty is dissolved in this state. Blake up your minds-antis have been fixed some time.-{ Cazenovia Monitor. En: Brver.-We cannot suppress a of the order, and the cunning and peffi- dy of his more guilty associates, has overwhelmed him and -his family in ruin and despair. He has, from a false sense of E duty to the fraternity, taken upon his 6wn shouldets, a Toad which has wasted his substance; blasted Kis hopes, and' de- masonry. nevolence, are the data of her external creed. not but that itis so, in reality. this recommendation or curiosity, or some other thing, induced you to become a ma- sentiment of deep commiseration for this °9\- You applied and wn received ; misguided man. The attrocious principles yOU wont f , perfectly ignorant of what would be reqmred of you; you before the masonic altar ; yog were told your politics$*yon were fold nothing of the®enalty ; you saw not the yoke until not have a greater influence on your mind than any othor oath or obligation what- ever. This you may deny ; but when I was a mason, there never was a Catholic who felt more bound to support the papal luernrchy, than I did to support the ma- sonicinstitution ; and if any one said any thing disrecpoctfully of masonry, I felt a horrible opposition to such person. This needs no proof to those who know the masonic road I have travelled. But with reference to the arbitrariness of the oaths and penalties themselves, nothing can have a greater influence on the mind of man. Those who consider their oaths binding, would be quartered, yes, under- go sufferings as horrible as as the inflic- tion of their penalties would be, before they would reveal \any part or parts, art or arts, pointor points,\ of the secrets of masonry. And why 1 Because they Kave bound themselves under no less pen- altiecs than to have their throats cut across, or their left breasts tom open, or their bodies severed in two, or their sculls struck off and their brains exposed to the scorching rays of the sun'! Now, rea- der, if these oaths and penalties are not arbitrary, then there is no such thing on the face of the earth. Rome forced her physical power. Not so with masonty ; by indirect means she forces her oaths up- on her votaries. Would any man take those oaths which masons take, if he knew before he took them, their real im- port 1 Consider the pretensions of free- Morality, divinity© and be- Beforehand, reader, you know Either were duly and truly-prepared; and brought that you were about ifo take upon yot an oath or oblxgahon, ; Which would not affect creed upon the credulity of nations by |: Shelbyville, between col. Archibald Yell and Mr. Nathaniel Caldwell, in which the former was dangerously wounded.- Hopes are entertained for his recovery. Ha: sromnm ar Tttscaroosa. -A very serious and destructive storm of hail, wind and rain, visited Tuscaloosa, Ala- bama, on the 2d ult. The ground wae covered with hail to an average depth of four inches ; and in places it was drifted together in large bodies, from six to nine feet deep. It came first front the north, but veered round with great rapidity to the cast and south, destroying every thing before it. The Tuscaloosa Intelhgencor says, that \all tender vegetation within the range of the storm was destroyed. 'The forest is disrobed of its vordure, and the ground is thickly covered with green leaves, as in autumn it is with the yellow. The, trees of the orchard have lost their fruit, their leaves, and even their smaller boughs In the fields and gardens, every thing that Meepe‘d above the surface has béen beaten into the earth. The in- jury to wheat crops, &e. is irreparable.- (N. ¥. Courier. Accroenrt.-Mr. Alvah M'Keen yesterday fell from the netw frame build- ing of Mr. Barnes, in this place, on to the edge of a carpenter's adz, that was in his hand, which he threw from him while falling. The head of the adz stuck in the ground with the edgo up, of which he fell, and which entcred his back, near tho shoulder- blade, eatting &bout three inches deep, and nearly 6 inches id length. His recovery may be considered as doubtful.-{ Selina Herald. Basarrxo ox tes -This took place literally, and in a most shock- ing manner, at the foundry of Mr. Allaire; in Cherry street, day before \yesterday. Johni Burk, a 124 17 years of age, was arranging some machinery in the cham- ber, in doing which, it was convenient for him stand upon one of the large 633 wheels. While thus situated, the works men below, unconscious of hrs p’osfbpné put the machine in motion.. The figh\ contre took place on Tuesday last, in g 4 foot of the miserable lad vi'as‘ifilfiadi’fely ou felt the bow; you repested the cath, T rE drawn in, and thep the whofe fib, 'in word by word, and sentence by sentence, that every member wis tongue-tied by |bout to receive it, that. fins cath though «toyed peate. := in pursuan solemn in its nature,. mil fever mterfere his - He has, or th = him kept FaP) z £33262 (111mm 2]:ng 33_ with His religion or pohrdes,\\ and in fins the “gmzmmm fig! 3; after him who mm Had you life with themotmfi of the\ whee? and flicted the. most horrid death upon any the exnarate finds h Es imself palpably de [p.; ”is If up to suffering and mt known its contents, would you have ifs cries: were sworn to keep the secrets of an indiy «in. al, murder and Man no; excepted.— fiow, seeing £232; is so, in the venth egree, is it qa your couse; f So, neither; thesightof God r céived; for iE doés Mfififilififlffl Inalltbathcedid he acted In. It takes: thema-edmme of in ¥eib; sage gwymaplamaqmg “Mina. . ~ |aotizy;-without reflecting how grossly . ke was viohfing irs daty to metym Ins But there is this min one who should attempt a (1501052er dits géetrets. This mistaken notion e the stitution, together with the flattenngar» by‘mrohn’ghn * omtswh‘zckmiom ”Wanda-atom, fi'amnmsofmr Marina syfiemrfi inf
