Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1870-02-04 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

THE FREEMASONS AND THE CECUMENICAL  COUNCIL.  The Freemasons of Baireuth, Franconia, have come forward to protest against the proceedings at Rome. The Grand Lodge has issued a public circular to its members, saying that as a rule the Society of Freemisons takes no part in the political and ecclesiastical contests of the day, but it cannot be expected to maintain that neutrality when the very existence of the society is attacked and great moral truths imperilled. Tim " designs hatching at Rome in these latter da)s " endanger the peace and the intellectual progress of eivilisa4 humanity, and are doubtless partly due to the Order K.... Jesuits, which is the mortal enemy of the fraternity. Infallibility, aids the circular, ha no binding force on the members of the society, but they feel called upon to vindicate their rights to exist in defiance of the Pope, who denied it in the Allocution of t-ieptember 2h. 18 5, and in defiance of the Council, if they should ratify that sentence. The Pope has been rreatly at fault in the censures which he has passed cn the Freemasons, condemning their associatiou as immoral, atheistic, and revolutionary, and the Grand Lodge therefore, concludes that he is as fallible as anybody else. The Pope condemns all philosophy and science which objects to be fettered by his hierarchical authority. The society are convinced that science, from its very nature, must be independent of ecclesiastical authority. • We have not forgotten that for all great discoveries and advancement we are indebted to the spirit of free inquiry, critical observation, and logic t I thought; and that humanity is scarcely possessed of a single truth but it had to be established in spite of the opposition of the ecclesiasical authorities. We are certainly not surprised to find the Pope, in many of his letters, and Slat) in the Encyclical, protesting against freedom of speech and liberty of the press, which he calls a pernicious pestilenct ; but we are still of opinion that the great task set to mankind by God, of employing and developing their fund of intellectual capacity, cannot be solved without that freedom and that liberty."  A letter of authority has been received in this country, which annouhces that Dr. Livingstone  has been murdered at a place ninety days' journey from the Cungo.  Eighteen persons were committed for, trial by the Northumberland magistrates at Dexham, on Saturday, for having taken part in the recent riotous proceedings and raid on cattle, &c., at Newlands Farm, in behalf of the person calling herself the Countess of Der. wen twater,  An infuriated cow attacked a school of about thirty children who were walking in procession to church on Sunday morning at Sparkbrook, near Birmingham. Many little girls were tossed, knocked down, aud trodden upon by the animal, and the teachers also received severe injuries.  A Northern contemporary states that "At L)bster a cow made an attack on a chicken, when the parent hen made a stroke at it with either its spur or bill and laid it lifeless." Perhaps the reader is incredulous, but his faith may return when to'd that " cow " is a misprint for "crow."