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 472 FREEPORT FREESOILERS city of Jerusalem ; and in the preceding year the grand lodge of Italy was opened in Rome itself. Its organization in Europe has been frequently used for political purposes, and es- pecially as a cloak to conspirators against the governments. Such employment of it, how- ever, is a violation of its constitution, which prohibits political, partisan, or sectarian dis- cussions in the lodges. The primary organiza- tion of the masonic fraternity is into lodges, which must each be composed of at least seven master masons in good standing. The first and lowest degree of masonry is that of entered apprentice, the second of fellow craft, the third of master mason. The officers of a lodge in the United States are: worshipful master, senior warden, junior warden, treasurer, secretary, senior deacon, junior deacon, tiler, and chap- lain. There are also two stewards. The mas- ter, the wardens, and the tiler are essential to any lodge organization. The tiler keeps the door and guards against intrusion. The officers are elected annually by ballot. In each state of the Union there is a grand lodge composed of the representatives of the subordinate lodges, over which it exercises a certain jurisdiction. Its officers are styled grand and deputy grand masters, grand wardens, grand treasurer, grand secretary, grand chaplain, grand deacons, grand marshal, grand pursuivant, grand sword-bearer, grand stewards, and grand tiler. ' There is also a still higher degree of masonry, the members of which are termed royal arch masons, and form royal arch lodges ; and beyond this there is still a long series of degrees bearing various titles. The literature of freemasonry is exten- sive, especially in the German and French lan- guages, the latest "bibliograpMa masonica con- taining titles of quite 4,000 books upon the his- tory, rituals, and belles-lettres of the order. Among the American works best known are Mackey's "Lexicon" (Philadelphia, 1850) ; Mor- ris's "Lights and Shadows" (1852), "Poems" (1864), and "Dictionary" (1867); and Ma- coy's Cyclopedia" (1868). Webb's "Freema- son's Monitor " (1796), in numerous editions, is still the favorite text book of the craft. " Freemasonry in the Holy Land" (1872) de- scribes the masonic mission which led to the organization of the lodge in Jerusalem. FREEPORT, a city and the capital of Stephen- son co., Illinois, on the Pekatonica river and at the intersection of the Western Union rail- road with the Galena division of the Chicago and Northwestern, and the Northern division of the Illinois Central line, 108 m. W. N. W. of Chicago; pop. in 1850, 1,436; in 1860, 5,376 ; in 1870, 7,889. It is situated on a fer- tile and undulating tract of land, and contains one of the finest court houses in the state. The principal manufactories are one of reapers and wagons, one of churns, one of carpets and coverlets, a machine shop and foundery, a planing mill and pump factory, a woollen mill, a turning shop, and a tannery. There are two national banks, with a capital of $200,000, three weekly newspapers (one German), two monthly periodicals, 13 churches, and 20 pub- lic schools (in 1872), including a high school, with 25 teachers and 1,400 pupils. Freeport college (Presbyterian) was organized in 1872, with 10 professors and instructors and 60 stu- dents. Freeport was first settled in 1835. FREESOILERS, the name of a political party in the United States, founded upon the princi- ple of non-extension of slavery to the territo- ries. It was an outgrowth of the liberty party in 1846, and was merged in the republican party in 1856. The immediate cause of its es- tablishment was the acquisition of new terri- tory at the conclusion of the Mexican war. In 1846, to a bill in congress making an appro- priation to negotiate a peace with Mexico, Da- vid Wilmot, a democratic representative from Pennsylvania, offered an amendment, known as the Wilmot proviso, " that there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any territory on the continent of America, which shall hereafter be acquired by or annexed to the United States by virtue of this appropri- ation, or in any other manner whatsoever, ex- cept for crime," &c. It was carried in the house, but failed in the senate, and in the next session was defeated in both branches. Peace with Mexico, however, and the consequent ac- quisition of territory, made the Wilmot proviso of political and practical importance. In both the whig and democratic national conventions in 1846 there were delegates from the north- ern states who attempted to introduce into the party platforms of that year resolutions pro- hibiting the extension of slavery to the terri- tories. The rejection of these resolutions led to the secession of a considerable number of prominent men from both parties, especially in Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio. In New York seceding democrats were termed " barn- burners," and their secession was partly on personal as well as on anti-slavery grounds. The seceders from both parties united, and sent delegates from all the free states, and from Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, who met in convention at Buffalo, N. Y., Aug. 9, 1848, and formed a freesoil party. They nominated for president and vice president of the United States Martin Van Buren and Charles Francis Adams. In November following this ticket received a popu- lar vote of 291,000, but did not secure a single electoral vote. The second national conven- tion of the freesoil party, at Pittsburgh, Pa., Aug. 11, 1852, comprised delegates from all the free states, and from Delaware, Maryland, Vir- ginia, and Kentucky, and nominated for presi- dent and vice president of the United States John P. Hale and George W. Julian, who in the election following received a popular vote of 1 57,000. The so-called compromise measures of 1850 and the repeal of the Missouri compro- mise in 1854, by the Kansas-Nebraska act, with the political agitation following, for a time gave great prominence to the platform and princi-