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Leader (1850-1860), 14th September 1850, Edition Town of 1, Page 591, THE LOST KEYS

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      The Lost Keys

      THE LOST KEYS .

      September 9 , 1850 . Sib , —Though much interested in the scientific expositions of Mr . H . S . Melville , on the subject of the " Lost Keys , " I am , like too many unfortunately , incompetent in the matter of astronomical knowledge to understand his elucidations . Yet , with respect to his interpretations of the Masonic signs or symbols , and the numerical expression 432 t as given by him , I beg to submit that those symbols are undoubtedly literal characters , which , with the ancients , as well as being the elements of words , expressed numbers before the Arabic figures were invented . And that in ancient

      alphabets particular letters were frequently transposed , and in different languages conveyed different sounds and numerical values , Of those symbols the A ( delta ) is Greek , and its value is 4 . The V is the exemplar of the Greek T ( upsilon ) , and of the Roman TJ , the value of which is 400 « The ? , or ara , as an alphabetical character is perhaps only found in the Saracenic alphabet , written thus , O » having the sound of " Mai , " equivalent to the Greek M ( mu ) , and the Hebrew Q ( mem ) , the numerical value of each of which in both languages is 40 » the sound and value establishing its identity ; and the total amount is 444—a rather mysterious number , as it is the specification of " Mystery , or D . V . M ., " Dei Vicarius Mundo "—" God ' s Vicar on Earth . "

      MUD " earthy , " or DUM " secret , " which was adopted as the masonic rule , and which , wherever it has been established , has led to the loss and sacrifice of science and knowledge , &c , as with the masons themselves , and the reign of i gnorance and superstition with others . The Saracenic O is undoubtedly the parent of our Roman letter D , which has supplanted the Greek A . Many instances of such substitutions of letters are traceable , which have led to considerable confusion and intricacy in deciphering . Among others , we may read the Roman I . H . S ., a mysterious melange of Greek and Roman characters , a hybrid , or mule christo-paganic , which should stand in the original IH . 2 . that is IH . Zoof ( Je-Soos ) , the " Saving Word , or Jesus , " only an innocent mystification . Yours , &c , Cosine .

      P . S . Our word " pious , " derived from " Iloilq , " the quality of a priest , as in " lepo—trotoq" a sacrificial priest , and implying priestly holiness , if largely abbreviated , is resolved into PIUS , of which the value derived from the higher and lower numerical valuations of the letters ( for they each have two ) , implying a mixture of the exalted and the base , stands thus : — P 16 \ / P 16 I 10 ( _ ) U 400 U 400 ( or IS 18 S 18 ) ll 10 444 444

      Untitled Article

      MALTHUS MEANWHILE . Sept . 10 , 1850 . Sir , —I am not sure that you are wrong when you assert that Political ( Economy is a science of mistakes . I should prefer , however , to consider it as a conditional science . John Mill , who is honourably distinguished from the majority of Political ( Economists by the breadth of his views and the nobleness of his aims , has clearly stated the basis of this science to be the principle of competition . That he by no means accepts it as a final principle is evident from the avowal that society will not much longer tolerate

      the division of its members into the two classes of payers and receivers of wages , and from the welcome which he extends to the principle of Association acting within certain limits . But , although the highest moral ideal should form the foundation of all our social arrangements , we must never forget that humanity is itself a growth . The selfish feeling precedes the social feeling . The loving and noble impulses , both in the individual and in man collectively , are developed only by circumstances favourable to that development , and emanating from previous circumstances of inferior educative and formative

      efficacy . Society is a growth , not a composition . You cannot make , you can only develop it . As sensation precedes reflection , selfishness must precede sympathy , and competition must precede cooperation . I recognize fully the beauty of your doctrine ; I hopefully await the methods of its application . But you cannot suddenl y supplant the old society by the mechanical intrusion of the new society . You must contentedly tolerate some evil that you may more enduringly establish good ; and ; while you seek to

      reform the age , you must remember that the age reacts upon every action of yours , modifying , neutralizing , and even perverting it . If to the despotic energy of a Napoleon the large brain of a Bacon and the chivalrous and affectionate enthusiasm of a Shelley were united , I should still regard as problematical the proximate regeneration of society . Religion , morals , politics , need to be placed on a firmer basis than they new occupy ; and , till men discard the dominant theological principles and apply science to

      the investigation of questions now supposed to be solved or solvable by a mystical and superhuman philosophy , we can organize no social system of any permanent character . Education on positive principles—diffusing the accumulated and unemployed knowledge of the age , and directing thought and action into new channels—must be the herald of that grand social experiment which we all predict , and which will undoubtedly one day be realized . Meanwhile , if we cannot hope to construct in our time an edifice so vast and so magnificent , we may at least collect materials and lay the foundations , glad if we can be emploved as hodmen , and joyfully anticipating

      the arrival of the Master Builder . But , if the new social era must be deferred , then the present age must be accepted as transitional . We are selfish , ignorant , and anarchical . Competition cannot be destroyed except by destroying egotism ; cooperation cannot be created except by creating a spirit of generous and loyal love . We must diffuse a higher morality , and then we shall have a nobler society . We must act upon men by all available means that honour can approve . We must extend the principle of association wherever it can be wisely extended ; we must promote a free and liberal culture of heart and mind ; and we must encourage in ourselves and others the formation of habits of self-control and

      selfsacrifice . And here I must observe , that I cannot admit , with the Leader , that , in the present state of society , the doctrine of Malthus , as expounded I y John Mill , either shocks the moral sense or is repugnant to the conclusions of science . That , under social arrangements very superior to those which we now have , population would , for a long period , require no preventive check , I am willing ^ to concede ; and , if we enjoyed such happy institutions , the problem might fitly be left to posterity to solve . But the crisis is imminent . Population actually exceeds subsistence ;

      and , if we cannot adequately multiply the latter , we must check the increase of the former . Celibacy is not desirable ; but want , crime , shame , and disease are still less so . Besides , the sacrifice is often mentally exaggerated , because we do not accurately measure it . It is required , not that a man should never marry , but only that he should not marry till he has resources sufficient to justify him in bringing children into the world . If every labouring man who is in the receipt of 8 s . per week , would lay by weekly , from his twentieth to his thirtieth year , the sum -of 4 s .. I cannot overlook the fact that he would have

      £ 100 , at least , to assist him in obtaining those comforts and in securing that position which would make paternity a blessing , and would render enduring the wife ' s love and the husband's tender care . I am fully convinced that to recommend hortatively such a proceeding to the poor would be attended with no useful result . But I can see no reason why every sort of practical encouragement to adopt such a course should not be offered them ; and if solid and

      material advantages were held out to them , in the acquisition of land or of houses , in the increased interest of their savings , or in the purchase of some political or social privilege ( an object which an improved poor-law might contemplate ) , I should not despair of the success of the project , —a project which would be of a temporary and provisional character , intended as an alleviation of a sore misery , and one day to be superseded by regulations of a wiser and nobler morality , arid of a lasting and more pervading efficacy . M . C .

      Untitled Article

      A REFORMATION . Cowe 3 , Isle of Wight , September 10 , 1850 . Sir , —In your paper of the 31 st of August there is a communication from a Unitarian believer of the Reverend Dr . Priestley ' s school upon the subject of a Reformation , and , as the writer has promised to reply to any definite questions relating to it , he will , perhaps , not object to publish his reasons for subscribing himself " Antichrist , " a term which I have never before known to be used except as an

      expression applied to the Pope , or an allegorical figure signifying the Roman Catholic Church , or as a name frequently given to Papists , in either of which senses it is considered equally appropriate . Another word appears to me to require explanation , and that is " era , " which we see substituted for " time , " in the text quoted from the Epistle of John . Although I have heard of the Elizabethan era in British literature , and of particular eras in the lives of individuals , I did not before know that it possessed a scriptural application .

      The four personal duties under the head of Religion seem to me quite proper , and , indeed , the best that could be selected for the true doctrines of revelation ; if they were voluntarily practised in private life , society could not fail to exhibit a more generous as well as spiritual aspect . If the first principle limits worship to the one true God , as afterwards expressed under the head of Faith , it is likely to be strongly opposed by the Roman Catholic Church , which continues to worship the Son of Man and his Mother Mary , besides numberless Saints , quite opposite to the instruction of the founder of Christianity , who tells us when we pray to address our Father in

      Heaven , as is very plain from the wording of the Lord ' s Prayer , which he taught to his disciples . While upon this subject , I should like to request your correspondent to explain his idea of tne nature ° ' The second principle , called « Innocence , " seem , more reasonable than the doctrine of " Onginal Sin" ( which we are generally told is inherited by new-born babes from their parents ) , and is more in accordance with the teaching of Jesus Christ , who , when little children were brought to him , caressed theni , and rebuked his disciples for attempting to drive them away , saying , " Forbid them not , for of such is the kingdom of heaven . " If it is not too troublesome , may I solicit explanation of Virtue and Vice ?

      The third principle , of " Repentance " for the Remission of Sins , will be thought a very different doctrine from those disputed by the Bishop of Exeter and Gorham ; but it is not unreasonable to suppose that sincere repentance will have greater effect in obtaining forgiveness than any ceremony performed by a minister . If the writer will answer the question , "Does any difference exist between Vice and Sins ? " he will oblige me . The fourth principle , of " Atonement , " is not very plain , because it does not mention the name of the Saviour ; and , if it is not intruding too much upon the notice of the writer , let me enquire what is his opinion of the Bible ? The moral principles appear to me impracticable , and it is , therefore , useless to make any remarks upon them . I am , Sir , yours truly . A Constant Reader .

      Untitled Article

      IS OUR PROGRESS BACKWARD ? Glasgow , Sept . 10 , 1850 . Dear Sib , —I perceive that there is a class of writers who are endeavouring to prove by ^ arithmetic and other figurative modes that the condition of the working clashes is not near so bad as it is supposed to be , and that the wag *** of labour are advancing with the advance of civilization , and that , but for the improvidence , drunkenness , and immoral habits of the manufacturing population , they might be in a very prosperous condition .

      This class of writers belongs to the political economists of the old school , who perceive that the wealth of the nation is rapidly increasing , and , without making proper enquiry into the matter , conclude that the working classes are getting a reasonable share of this increasing wealth . They can see no fault in the system . One of them lately asserted in Chamber * ' ' s Edinburgh Journal , " That the principle which forms the basis of the system is correct and natural ; and neither manufacturer nor workpeople can by any artificial process interfere with or resist its operation . " —The old song of letting things find their own level . He also very complacently tells us that it is our drunken habits that is the cause of our misery ; and that , if we avoid this dreadful

      sin , and keep ourselves clean , and lay by money , and educate ourselves , and purchase good furniture for our houses ; and if we do not grumble at the system , and above all are thankful to our employers ( as , but for their capital , we would be utterly deprived of all these temporal blessings ) ; these things we are only to observe , and we will occupy as high and independent a position as any other class in society . I am sorry to observe that Dr . Smiles in last week ' s Leader argues in the same strain , find regret that I am obliged to differ with him in regard to his statements concerning the advance of wages

      with the advance of modern civilization . I have always regarded him as a sincere friend of the working classes , but in this instance I am afraid his statements are calculated to mislead those who are wishing to improve our condition . At least the rate of wages which he enumerates for England will not correspond with the rate of wages in Scotland or Ireland ; and in dealing with this question it is not fair to adhere to partial statements , as the low rate of wages in one place has always a tendency to cause reductions in

      places where higher wages are paid . I am a hand-loom weaver , and have learned by sad experience that my wages have not advanced with the advance of modern civilization . In my cose the Doctor ' s picture of the Golden Age is reversed , as the following facts will prove : —In the year 1806 the price paid for a 14 °° 4-4 lawn , in Glasgow , was Is , 2 d . per ell of 45 inches ; at the present time the highest price paid foe , the same weo i *> 2 $ d . per ell , and some houses pay only 2 d . per ell for the same fabric of work . In the ubove-mentioned year the

      price paid in Belfast for a 20 ° 9-8 jaconet was 2 s . per ell of 45 inches ; the price paid now for the same web is from 2 Jd . to 3 d . per ell of 46 inches . These are not exceptional cases ; a proportionate reduction has taken place in all cotton fabrics in these places . In the year 1838 we had a Government commission here , enquiring into our condition , and they found our uverage wages to be Gs . Gd . per week , and since then there have been reductions in most fabrics of

      from ten to twenty per cent . About forty . five or fifty years ago the rents of our houses were not so high as they are now , nor wero we then : burdened

      Untitled Article

      S ept . J 4 , 1850 . ] 3 E&e % t * tftX * 591

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 14, 1850, page 591, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1853/page/15/