FREELAND 211 FREETOWN ,^ FBEELAND, a borough of Pennsyl- vania, in Luzerne co. It is on the Lehigh Valley Railroad. It is the center of an important coal mining and agricultural region and its industries include foun- dries, machine shops, and silk mills. It has the Mining and Mechanical Institute, Girls' Industrial School and Hill Observa- tory. Pop. (1910) 6,197; (1920) 6,666. FREEMAN, EDWARD AUGUSTUS, an English historian; born in Harborne, in Staffordshire, Aug. 2, 1823; was ap- pointed Professor of History at Oxford, 1884. The principal of his very numer- ous works are: "History and Conquests of the Saracens" (1856) ; "History of the Norman Conquest of England " (6 vols. 1867-1879) ; "General Sketch of Euro- pean History" (1872) ; "Growth of the English Constitution" (1872) ; "Reign of William Rufus and Accession of Henry I." (2 vols. 1882) ; "Fifty Years of Euro- pean History" (1888). At the time of his death he was engaged on a great "His- tory of Sicily," of which four volumes have been published. Among his miscel- laneous writings are: "Lectures to Amer- ican Audiences" (1882) and "Some Im- pressions of the United States" (1883). He was a fiery and unvarying champion of national freedom. He died in Alicante, in Spain, March 16, 1892. FREEMANTLE, a city of Australia, the chief seaport on the West Coast of Australia, situated at the mouth of the Swan River and twelve miles from Perth. Some thirty years ago it acquired importance on account of the rush of gold hunters to this part of Australia, extensive placer diggings being developed at various points in the interior. It is now of considerable importance as the point of export of leather and lumber, and for its shipyards. A large supply of salt is obtained from the salt works established by the government on an island in the large but rather shallow harbor. The pop. is about 22,000. FREEMASON, a member of an ancient secret order or fraternity now designated as "Free and Accepted Masons." The order is of such ancient origin that even the derivation of its name is in doubt. The most reasonable theory is that the name owes its origin to the practice of the ancient masons of giving the passed apprentice his freedom as he was sent forth to seek employment on some great and worthy structure in process of erec- r tion to complete his mechanical educa- tion. It was early in the 17th century that the word was first used in the sense in which it is now universally understood. At that time the ancient guilds of prac- tical masons began to admit as a mark of especial esteem certain worthy persons whom it was intended to honor, not regu« lar members of the guild through appren- ticeship and occupation. To these was given the appellation "accepted." They were afterward given the title of "free- masons." In the year 1717 J. T. Desa- guliers, a man of scientific knowledge and attainments, brought a number of scattered "lodges" or guilds of London under a single jurisdiction called the "Grand Lodge," and it is to this ancient and august body that all the regular lodges of the ancient craft to-day trace their origin. The first Provincial Grand Lodge in America was established at Boston in 1733 by Henry Price, who, in 1734, was made Grand Master over all of North America. The order has at- tained a remarkable growth throughout the world, and especially in the United States and Canada, the returns of the grand lodges of these two countries for 1919 showing 2,056,596 members. FREEPORT, a city and county-seat of Stephenson co.. 111.; on the Pecatonica river, and on the Illinois Central, the Chicago and Northwestern, and other railroads; 121 miles W. of Chicago. It contains a public library, St. Francis Hospital, waterworks, a street railroad, electric lights. National and State banks, and daily and weekly newspapers. It has manufactories of hardware, wind-mills, wagons and buggies, and railroad shops. Pop. (1910) 17,567; (1920) 19,669. FREEPORT, a village of Long Island, in Nassau co., New York. It is entirely a residential place, although fishing is carried on to some extent. There are a high school and two large club houses. Pop. (1910) 4,836; (1920) 8,599. FREETHINKER, a name often as- sumed by those who, disbelieving in rev- elation, feel themselves free to adopt any opinion in religious or other matters which may result from their own inde- pendent thinking. The name was spe- cially claimed by those who in the 17th and 18th centuries took part on the anti- Christian side in the deistic controversy. FREETOWN, the capital of the Brit- ish west African colony of Sierra Leone. It is on the left bank of the Sierra Leone river, about 5 miles from the coast. It is an important coaling station and is the headquarters of the British forces in west Africa. It has an ex- cellent harbor which is well protected by fortifications. Among the notable buildings are a cathedral, a governor's palace, a technical school, and Fourah Bay College. Freetown is the chief sea- port of west Africa and has important exports, including rubber, palm oil, nuts, and ginger. Pop. about 35,000.
