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

legitimate existence according to the Statutes of the Order , and these alone are in communion , jurisdiction , and obedience with the Grand Mastery and Council , at present residing at Rome ; viz : First , the Grand Priory of Rome ; second , the Grand Priory of the Venetian Lombards ,

including Parma and Modina ; third , The Grand Priory of the Two Sicilies ; fourth , The Grand Priory of Bohemia . The existence ofthe Knights of St . John in Prussia , which desends by a legitimate and uninterrupted succession from the Ancient Grand Bailliewick of Bradenbourg is

recognised by the Order as perfectly legitimate , although this branch lias stood for many centuries , for special reasons , without the ordinary and continuous jurisdiction of the Grand Mastery . The small number of Knig hts of Justice , and those of the Knig hts decorated with the Cross of

Devotion , who , by their birth do not belong to any of the Priories nor to any of the legal langues still existing , are only recognised by our Order in so far and in as much as they have been received by the Mastery and Council in shut religionis , or because they have been admitted

into its Order by means of a Bull of Devotion , delivered in due form by that same authority . Except these langues , these Priories , and the Knig hts thus created or constituted , all those who may call themselves such are legally ignored Additional Notes 2

by our Holy Order . On these grounds his Excellency the Chief of our Order , and the undersigned , desire and demand to be erased , and declare that they consider themselves from the present time as erased from the published list of the " Synoptical Sketch , " where they ought not

to be inserted . Given at Rome at the Magisterial Palace of the Sovereign Order of Saint J ohn of Jerusalem , 16 th of December , 185 S . The Commander ( Count ) Brother Averado De . Medne Spada , Deputy

Knig ht of the Sovergn Order of St . John of Jerusalem . The Chevalier ( Count ) Luca te Gozze , Secretary of the Mastery of the same Order .

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• ORDERS OF THE TEMPLE AND HOSPITAL . To the Editor of The Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — The points which we are patiently wait ing for Bro . Holmes to prove , are , not what existing Orders are unconnected with those Orders to which they claim affiliation , but ,

jirecisely , whether the Masonic Order ofthe Tenijile has a well-established connecting link with the Chivalric ( unmasonic ) Order of the Temple , and , this being so or otherwise , whether the Masonic Order of the Temple has any right to

adojit the title of the Chivalric ( unmasonic ) Order of the Hospital , an Order whose chief historical connection with that of tlie Temple is that it was constantly hostile to the latter , and eventually swallowed up the chief part of its property .

I submit that Bro . Holmes has signally failed to prove his case on either of these points , that he now has entirely , Ieft the ground upon which only can be founded any right of the Masonic Orders of the Temple and Mosjiital to drop the prefix "Masonic , " and by dropping it assume tu

be what I think the majority of Masonic Temp lars believe them not to be . The publication of a so-called " inqiortant " document from Rome , denouncing what Bro . Holmes and his party are pleased to call " The Manchester Men" can in no way affect thc

Masonic Order of the Temple , except in so much as this , that if the document should turn out lo be ths well known bogey , dated the 14 th December , 1858 ( the original of whicii is in the possession of Sir George Bowyer , Bart ., a Knight of Grace of the Roman Catholic Branch of the

Order in England ) , it seems a juty our Bro . Holmes , evidently tie useful man of a party in Grand Conclave , should forget that the Order of St . John of Jernsalei i is Hydra-headed , and that if he should succeed in doing what so many before him have tried hard , and with such signal

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ill-success , to do , that is in crushing the Protestant portion of the Order in England , there will still remain staring him in the face Sir George Bowyer , Lord Beaumont , and Messrs . Watts , Waterloo , Cavendish , and Havilland , representing the Roman Catholic portion of the Order in

England , dnly accredited by the Pope ; there will still exist , even in Bro . Holmes ' s mind , an Order of St . J ohn in England , purely unmasonic . Let us be honest men and Masons , and let ns not be ashamed of the prefix " Masonic . " If in

a hasty moment we have drojiped the title , and so assumed another which is not ours , let us not be afraid to acknowledge our error and resume our title " Masonic . " I am , faithfully yours , Civis .

IMMEDIATE PAST MASTERS

To the Editor of Thc Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — 1 think " A Young J . W . " may be satisfied with havin < r laid the views of those Past Masters

of his lodge who dissent from the dictum of the Grand Secretary on the subject of the Immediate Past Mastership before your readers . I should recommend him and them to be content with the very explicit decision quoted by him .

Tlie argument of the P . M . who contends that the W . M . became I . P . M . ipso facto , on leaving his chair to be re installed , is clearly wrong . The law that a king never dies is as true iu a lodge as in our outside Constitutions ; if the W . M . became I . P . M ., he ceased for a few minutes to be

W . M . ; the lodge was therefore without a Master , whicii is impossible , as twelve months before he took an OB . as W . M ., not only for the ensuing twelve months , but until a successor should be elected and installed in his stead . One word as to thc lectures and explanations of the tracing boards , which appear to be treated

of as identical . They are quite distinct one from the other . A lecture in either degree is divided into sections and is given in the catachetical form . I have never heard these given from the Warden ' s chairs . The explanations of the tracing boards are not , technicall y sjieaking , lectures . Yonrs fraternally ,

F . L . E . J . THE MASONIC SCHOOLS .

To the Editor of The Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , Masters of lodges possessing Governorships of our Charities , and who aim at handing down the privileges of their position pure and unsullied to their successors , will do well to

attend a Special General Court of the Boys ' , and Girls' Schools , which , is to be held at the Freemason ' s Hall on the 6 th of March next . Last Saturday , at a meeting of halfa dozen brethrenincluding the Secretaries of the two Schools , it was agreed to recommend that the ri ght of

voting at the General Committees of the Institutions should be taken away from the Masters of the lodges . I don ' t quite know whether the authorities of the Court of Chancery , or the Court of Queen ' s Bench would agree to this summary alteration of the conditions under

whicii large sums of money have been paid ; but so far as the Joint Committees , who are our Trustees , are concerned , it has been decided to atemjit this act of confiscation . Fortunately , however , the recommendation of the six brethren who met on Saturday requires the formal approval of the general body on the 6 th March ; and I

trouble you with this note to let my fellow subscribers know how matters stand , and how necessary it is vh-. ' . t the representatives of lodges , who feel and think as I do , should take the necessary stejis for asserting their determination to uphold existing rights . Yonrs fraternally , A LIIK GOVERNOR .

7 ( i the . Edilurof ' [ lie Lrccmason . Dear Sir and Brother , — I would ask you for the favour of a little space in your columns to enable me to make a few suggestive remarks upon the value of music in our ceremonies , the difficulties attending its use , ancl a suggestion ofa way to get over

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some of those difficulties . The value of music , and the power that it is capable of exercising over the mind , has been acknowledged in all ages , and I believe the Masons of the present day will ajipreciate its influence . Few lodges are now without that useful instrument

for solemn music , the harmonium , bnt on the other hand there is often a difficulty in securing the services of an Organist , who will attend regularly . Musical peojile are often rather difficult to deal with and to manage , and as it is necessary that they should be Masons , our choice

is frequently very limited . Thus again most of our existing Masonic odes , chants , & c . are written for part singing , which requires trained voices , and is useless unless you have them all there . The absence of one voice may effectually stop the music for the evening . Some of onr Masonic

composers seem to think it a point of excellence to make it as difficult as possible , by writing in musical keys and putting notes in that but few male voices ( non-professional ) can attain . I would suggest that all our singing should be in unison and consist principally of short but

appropriate chants , with a hymn or anthem at the opening and closing of the lodge . And I would just throw out a hint to the dealers in Masonic fittings that if they could arrange with some of the music manufacturers to construct a ibarrel organ sjiecially adapted for the Masonic lodge ,

it might meet with a good sale , as I know many brethren would sooner have " handle" music ( I do not mean a P . M . ) than none at all . It should be arranged to play two or three airs , to sing our odes and a couple of chants , and a small selection of short voluntaries or interludes to be jilayed whilst the C . is being led round

in the various degrees . A lodge possessing one of these instruments would then be able to have music , if not of the finest order , every night of meeting , and would not be jirevented by the abscn : e ofthe Organist , ; s any brother could turn the handle . Let it be distinctly understood I only propose this as an auxilliary , to be used when other instrumental music is unattainable . Yours fraternally , ORPHEUS .

UNAUTHORISED OFFICES .

To the Editor of The Freemason . Dear Sir and Bro . — I observe many lodges , both provincial and ordinary , presume to apjxiint officers to which they are not entitled ; for instance , in your

jmblication ofthe 15 th February , I find a private lodge ajijiointing a Supt . of Works , a Standard Bearer , and a Director of Ceremonies . By a reference to the Book of Constitu : ions , page 61 , the two first named of these officers have no

existence , and the latter must be called " Master of Ceremonies , not " Director , " as that is the name of a similar office in Grand and Provincial Grand Lodges . Again , 1 find some Provinces ajipointing as

officers Prov . Grand Standard Bearer , ; they have no ri g ht to do so . Such an officer does not exist . Even the Grand Master himself cannot appoint such an officer , n . u-h less any Provincial Grand Master ( see Book of Constitutions , page 40 ) .

It is lawful to appoint such an officer in Grand Chapter and Provincial Grand Chapters , but not in the Craft . Would it not be well to call the attention of Provincial Grand Lodges , as well as private lodges to this excess of jurisdiction .

Yours fraternally , H . STATUS OF PAST MASTERS . To the Editor of The Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother . Referring you to a letter on the above

subject , signed " An Old P . M ., ' in your issue of the 1 jth inst ., and thanking the writer for his desire to remove the disabilities under which Irish Past Masters at present labour with regard to their status in English lodges ; I would ask to

hi allowed to jioint oat a few errors under which your corresjiondent evidently lies . Passing the chair—as a preparation for exaltation to the Roval Arch—has for some years been discontinued in this country , and now no