Wilmington expositor. (Wilmington, Del.) 1831-18??, 1832-05-04
wrLM1MaTom DEL

I
strikes last,sor not at all, upon adhering free
lmasons- This is not owing TO their want o.
understanding, but. 10 a great measure, to the
.lproud confidence with which the spirit of the
mystery inspires their hearts, to believe it is
las good as it is old, and that it is old as ere.
alton; that it is as profound as it is beautiful,
land that it is as beautiful as king Solomon
Icould make it; and that it as charitable as it is
holy, and so holy that the hottest of men have
lin all ages patronizedit. They believeit, and
without censuring in severe terms their folly,
or ridiculing their absurdity. it is our duty tc
take knowledge Of the fact, and TO take also
some Of its most glorious pretcnsions, il
lis yet melancholy truth, that many amongthe
Ipure, and learned, and patriotic of our fellow
citizens, not only in their hearts reverence, but
in pubic praise the goodness, and the science,
and the charity of freemasonry,
without inquiring h lw far the countenancr
Iof great names. and tic covering of stolen fea.
lthers, may have gone honestly to convince thou
sands Of our fellow citizens of the excellence
land purity Of the principles of freemasonry,
thousands are convinced of it. and they are
the most convinced, who, in the pride of ma
sonry. shut their eyes and stop their ears to
every thing said against the order, which adj
herring masons commonly do. with great hard
ness Of heart They will not read newspa.
per given them, or a pamphlet presented, or a
volume opened to their hand, il is against
freemasonrysand any thing spoken in contempt
of the mysteBy, either irritates them out of rea-
son, or vexes them into silence. 1t is impos-
sible to get theAtruth before them-that truth
which makes all men free, and without which
any Of us might he freemason.
I" Not only are the fraternity ignorant of the
r. Il. CnFr
mour that which is proved fact in many
courts OF Justice, but they are exceedingly mis-
Informed on many important points, which they
think they do knows 'Fhey do not say, Ii
hath been alleged that the an-timasons are a
pfoscriptive. intolerant, and selfish party; but
they affirm that the whole object of the party,
is to make political gain out of moral suicide,
and to turn the honest indignation against the
fanatics who slew Morgan; into fanatical cru
SADIE against'all the masons. They are coneer-
ned to know what their fate will be, when they
have lost their power, some of them really fear
ing an act of outlawry against all who nave
sworn the oath of mason.
'The committee present these things as facts
having great influence uPon the public mind,
and shutting up the avenues to right knowl-
edge of anti-masonry, in the minds OF thous-
ands, especially of those 10 whom this knowl-
edge is in every sense the most important, the
masons themselves. For, when they come re-
ally to understand the subject, they will give
up their obligations of moral penalties: and
when these are surrendered, the masonic COLI
ltrovsrsy and the public and private dissensions
Ispringing out of it, will sink, with the mystery.
into. oblivion. Policy, as well as charity, and
the interest of the party, as well as the love oil
country, would seem to require that IN every
measure we adopt. to inform the public mlnd'
we should pay particular attention TO these
deaf and blind, and sometimes preserve citi-
zens. endeavoring to gain their attention, oy
all the innocent methods, which love adopts, TO
inculcate essential, but unpalatable truths, UP,
on ignorant minds. To fret them with hard
names, howevet well deserved, will defeat our
own desire of bringing them early to convlc.
| ton of the hypocrisy and wanton illegality o.
lfreemasonry But If we taxi them on theii
own ground ofhonestly supporting an institu
ltion, Of which Washington was, and Lafayette
lis, member, and then proceed, on their non
esty. TO show them, that an institution whicf
: requires Of its members sacrifice OF their ive
, if they say nah hah-bonc; and lays them unde
; an everlasting curse. If they fail TO do man.
Things, which. in the literal terms OF its oaths
Il every sensible man must admit to be morrail
,twrong; they viii be constrained. in Hei non
= esty, to admit. that such an institution ough
;, to be abandoned by all good citizens, and tina
Z men who persist in supporting it are prope
: objects of public distrust.-After admlttIn
: so much, they win not be obstinate adherent
'. of masonry great while. !,
! q Among the interesting facts showing. I'll
= spread of information, and the growth OF OF
y cause, re name with pleasure the results OF I'll
!. elections. These, in every section OF ourlcouI
d try. where freemasonry is brought before II
!. grand inquest of the people, and subjected
Is Examination at the polls, never fail to show Il
!, ! increasing power of anti-masonry. The SIN
G nile facts which follow. are a fair represent
!. IT ton of the progress of anti-masonry in the
J nion:-In 1897. the first anti-masonic tcke
Il 4 nxyAf