Table Of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Notes on tbe United Orders of the Temple and Hospital 7 ? i The Surrey Masonic Hall Company 771 Consecration of the Faith Chapter , No . 141 773 Consecration of a Chapterat Abergavenny 77 Grand Lodge of Florida 77 3 Masonic Tidings 77 $

Welcome to St . Mungo .., , 774 CORRESPONDENCE : 4 Notes on the United Orders of the Temple and Hospital 775 An Old Masonic Print 775 Reviews , , 775 United Grand Lodge , 776

Grand Mark Lodge 778 CRAFT M ASONRY : — Metropolitan OJ ,, 7 78 Provincial 778 RovAt , ARCH ;—Provincial 779 MARK MASONRY :

Metropolitan 779 Provincial ..., 779 KNIGHTS TEMPI . AU : — Provincial - 780 Obituary 780 Provincial Masonic Lodges and G . Lodge of Scotland 781 Masonic Meetings for next week 781 Advertisements 760 , 770 , 781 , 782 , 78 . ? , 784

Notes On The " United Orders Of The Temple And Hospital."

NOTES ON THE " UNITED ORDERS OF THE TEMPLE AND HOSPITAL . "

A Lecture delivered le / bre / lie Frutres oj the Prudence Encaiii / tiiieiit of Masonic Knights Templar , ul Ipswich , on the % isl July , 1 S 72 .

BY EMRA HOLMES , 31 , Eminent Commander of the Encampment , Grand Provost of England , Provincial Grand Banner Hearer of the Royal Order of Scotland , < Vc . ( Con I in nc < l / ' rum Page 712 . )

Bro . Yarker , in lus valuable and interesting " Notes in the Temple / ' I see , asserts positively that Colonel Kemeys Tynte , as Grand Master of the Templars , gave up all control over

the degrees Rosa : Crucis and others , and that the same were then taken up by the recentlyestablished Supreme Council . For my own part , whilst I think there is a connection between the

Rose Croix and Templar degrees , and whilst I agree with many old members of the Hautes Grades that the former is made too cheap now-a-Uays , and that it ought to be restricted to Masons

who have been installed Knights Templar and Knights of Malta , and not conferred at random , as has too often been the case , upon Masons of no standing and no education , 1 am strongly of

opinion that the Rose Croix , and other high degrees , are best separated from Templary , and placed under the control of the Supreme Council

. 33 ° . I venture to express a hope , however , that the time will come when the names of all candidates for the Rose Croix will be submitted to

the Supreme Council , or the deputies appointed by them , in the same manner as is now required to be done in the Order of the Temple . By this

plan , I am persuaded , will worthy men and worthy men alone be admitted to those degrees which are necessarily restricted , and the chief value of which is in their exclusiveness .

As a very worthy Craft Mason said to me the other day , " What is the use of your high degrees unless they are conferred as the reward of merit ? How can I value them when they

are given to men whose sole claim is their inordinate ambition and loose cash ? Is it right that I , as a hard-working Mason , a ritualist and

preceptor , should have no more chance of getting them than A . B . or CD ., who drop their h ' s and DUirder the Queen ' s English r "

Notes On The " United Orders Of The Temple And Hospital."

A "Masonic Student , " writing to "The Freemason ' s Magazine , " 17 th August , iS 6 y , disputes the statement made by a " Knight Templar " in a previous number , to the effect that the Baldwin

Encampment at Bristol was established by the Templars , who returned with Richard I . from Palestine , and which is mentioned by Mackey in his Lexicon of Masonry , and by other writers .

A " . Masonic Student" says , " Historically , too , this connection of Richard I . with the Templars seems very questionable , as it is well known licw opposed to him on all occasions were the soldiery

of the Temple , and how serious were the dissensions between tbem . " A " Masonic Student " is one of the most learned and impartial Masonic writers we have , but

I venture to think he would hardly have penned the lines he did had he studied—I have no doubt he had perused—Addison ' s book attentively . Contrast his statement with that of the historian

of the Templars . Let it be remembered , too , that Cocur de Lion had many enemies in the East—notably the French—with the Duke of Burgundy at their head , and the Marquis of

Montferrat , who was at the head of a strong party . Says Addison , "The Templars faithfully adhered to the standard of Cirur de Lion . At

last , however , after long and weary lighting , the health of King Richard and Saladin gave way . " Addison states that their health was in a declininsr state . " Peace was declared on terms

favourable to the Crusaders , who were to retain Tyra , Acre , Jaffa , and the coast between , immediately after the conclusion of peace , King Richard , beiii" ; anxious to take the shortest and speediest

route to his dominions , induced Robert dc Sable , the Grand Master of the Temple , to place a galley of the order at his disposal , and it was determined that whilst the royal fleet pursued

its course with Queen Berengaria , through the straits of Gibraltar to Britain , Cuvur de Lion himself , disguised in the habit of a Knight Templar , should secretly embark and make for one of

the ports of the Adriatic . This plan was carried into effect on the nig ht of the ajjth October , 1102 , and King Richard set sail , accompanied

by some attendants and four trusty Templars . The habit he had assumed , however , protected him not , as is well known , from the cowardly vengeance of the base Duke of Austria . " *

It is only fair to "A Masonic Student , " however , to say that Bro . Hughan , quoting "The Freemasons' Magazine" of 1862 , t says that Dr . Beaumont Leeson declared that the Baklwyn

was founded by French Masons , who had brought it from Canada towards the close of the last century , a fact of which he was certain , as the original books were in his own possession .

Bro . Hughan says , "None of the time-immemorial encampments under the present Grand Conclave can or have produced minutes of their

meetings before ijjo or 17 S 0 . " He goes on to say that the Grand Conclave of London was not established till 179 J , but that the encampments

Notes On The " United Orders Of The Temple And Hospital."

existed in either Scotland or Ireland at an earlier date . Bro . Yarker , in his " Notes , " [ says , * " Even with conclaves of the British system , that of

Baldwyn had been revived b y French Kni ghts , and the Edinburgh Conclave had organised themselves on the plan of the Ordre du Temple If I remember right , there was a Temple

Lodge established m Bristol in , 1759 , or thereabouts , and which is included in a list of old lodges , published in the " Freemasons' Magazine" some years since . I believe it is now

extinct , but one would be glad to know what , if any , connection there was between it and the Baldwyn . Bro . Woof , in his admirable little work , which

I have before quoted , says , " The records of the Baldwyn Encampment , Bristol , in 1780 , have reference to a long previous existence , evidenced by a vellum document , wherein the encampment

is styled as of the Order of Kni ghts Templar of St . John of Jerusalem , Knights Hospitallers , and Knights of Malta . This document refers to other then existing encampments . That the

early Templars had considerable property in Bristol is well known , the importance of their possessions in that city being attested by the parish of Temple and the Temple Church .

A tradition exists that the Baldwyn Encampment is the lineal successor of an institution , founded in Bristol by the warrior monks , whose order there dwells in name , though its glory has

passed away . In a circular letter from the * "Baldwyn , in which it assumed the title of " Supreme Grand and Royal Encampment , " a reference is

made to the document alluded to b y Bro . Woof , and which itself refers to a previously existing document , therein called a " Charter of Compact . " After citing some passages from the

document , which is dated 1780 , bearing upon this charter , the circular goes on to state " It is impossible to desire evidence more clear and satisfactory of the existence in 1780 of a

Supreme Grand and Royal Encampment of the Masonic Knights Templar , holding its meetings in Bristol , and presiding over subordinate

encampments which acknowledged its authority . " ( To lie continued . )

Surrey Masonic Hall.

SURREY MASONIC HA LL .

A meeting of shareholders in this Company , and of others interested in the erection of a building for the purposes of Freemasonry in the Southern District of the Metropolis , was held at

Mr . Stevens s A uction Rooms , at Clapham , on Friday , the 29 th inst ., Bro . Edward Worthington in the chair . The Chairman having explained to the meeting the objects of the Company and

detailed the particulars of estimated cost , the means for iaising the neccessary funds , and the anticipated receipts and expenditure subsequent to the erection of the building , ( the site of which

he stated , had been secured adjoining the Post Office . in Camberwell New-road ) , Bro . Stevens proposed the first resolution . —viz ., "That in the opinion of this meeting the erection of a Masonic Hall for the purposes of Freemasonry