Easter is celebrated with great solemnity. In order to provide opportunity for observing all the ceremonies prescribed by the church, they are so arranged that the ceremonies corresponding to the commemoration of the death of Christ are begun on Thursday at noon and the celebration of the resurrection on Saturday at noon, and this is the order of dates accepted by the people in general. On Thursday and Friday soldiers form a guard of honor before the churches, and up to Easter of 1906 there was a strict prohibition of any vehicle going through the streets between Thursday noon and Saturday noon. Not a wheel was permitted to turn in this period, giving rise to much inconvenience and discomfort. Since 1906 a more liberal view has prevailed. At this time as on certain other church festivals, solemn religious processions wind through the streets. The church has charge of several small hospitals and orphan asylums. A few schools in the Republic are also under its auspices, but in general religious education is much neglected. Although the Catholic religion is the state religion and is professed by so large a majority of the population, the influence of the church in the government is no more than in many countries where no such circumstances prevail. Discipline in the priesthood is limited almost entirely to ecclesiastical matters and priests otherwise speak and act for themselves. They frequently participate in politics and are often to be met in municipal councils and in Congress, and in such cases their acts indicate that they sit, not as priests representing the church, but entirely as individuals representing the constituency from which they were elected. Father Merino, who later became archbishop, was elected president and served out his term. President Morales had been a priest, but had abandoned the priesthood when he was elected to Congress. The present head of the church, Archbishop Nouel, has also been president, under a temporary compromise. Another peculiarity of Dominican Catholicism is its tolerant attitude towards freemasonry. It is not unusual for persons who are recognized as fervent Catholics to be at the same time enthusiastic masons. There are instances even of devout families, where one of the sons belongs to the priesthood and the other sons and the father are zealous masons, but where all live under the same roof in absolute concord. The first lodges were founded in 1858 and there are lodges to be found to-day in all the principal cities. Several of them have their own buildings, that at Santiago being especially worthy of remark. They have done excellent work in behalf of charity and education. The lodges of Santo Domingo City, Santiago, La Vega and Moca maintain free public schools, and the lodge of Puerto Plata a hospital. The lodges of oddfellows in the Republic have done similar good work.