Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Bro. Holmes's Lecture On The Orders Of The Temple And Hospital.
of the Order have no claim to the title because they are not in obedience to the Roman Council ? And is the mere assertion and bombast of this " protest " a law which shall deprive all others of their legal rights ? 4 . The legal existence of the Evangelical
Bailiwick of Brandenburg , here proclaimed on behalf of the Roman Council whose fulminations the allies of Bro . Holmes would fain exalt into law when convenient , will fully prove to your readers the value they should put upon the
oracular opinions Bro . Holmes has had instructions from his friends to put forward . Those who utter railing accusations , those guilty of unprovoked attacks , those who base not their assertions on established facts , should have good memories .
15 . Here we are informed that beyond the Priories enumerated , and certain Knights of Justice and Devotion received by the Lieutenant and Roman Council , all those who call themselves Knights of St . John are legally ignored . Yes , this is plain , but , as 1 before observed , what
then ? Are all the other lawful Knights of the Order deprived of their dignity ? Assume that the Knights of the Greek Church in Russia sent over a declaratory protest they had no " organic connection" with the honourable society at Rome styling itself the Sacred Council , inasmuch
as that society is of more modern formation ; that the society at Rome was never appointed b y the Order , and has no lawful claims to position as a directing body ; that it is not derived from , or representative of , any other section of the Order than the , Langue of Italy , is the birth of
the present century and nothing more than a local institution ; that it fulfils no hospitaller duties , nor has any object other than to live at ease in Rome on the fragmentary revenue of the Order , which ought to be devoted to the help of the poor : that it accepts the interference of the
lope in matters with which he has nothing whatever to do , nor ever had since the days of Paschall II . and is consequently not representative of its princip les or observant of its laws and sovereign independence ; that it has power only over those who chose to acknowledge its
authority , and that its pretensions to dictate in any way " are legally ignored . " Would such a protest as this deprive the Roman Council of any rights it lawfully possessed ? Assuredly not . And , as assuredly , no protest or dictum of that same Council can alter any single position which Russia , Austria , or England has a right to
occupy . 6 . The signataries require their names to be erased from the lists before referred to . This has been necessarily answered in No . 1 . The authors of this " protest" probably thought it a very clever expedient ; but 1 much
mistake my brethren of the ancient and honourable Craft of Freemasonry if they consider the proceeding at all on the square , and if they do not view it as about as shabby a piece of double dealing as they have ever had the misfortune to meet with .
The Roiinn Council probably repented having too readily consented to precipitate action , I ' or on the 2 . 3 rd of January , i 860 , thirteen months , only , after he had signed tlie protest , the Count de Goz / e wrote to a well-known member of the English Langue , telling him
that the intentions of the Roman Council remained the same , that the substantial basis was unaltered and that the Catholic Priory , once for all constituted , would announce the English Langue as already existing , and he added " I need not tell you , Monsieur lc Chevalier , how
trul y desirous I am that this constitution should be realised as a primary condition to lead to "ulterior arrangements . " And this from the very "Magisterial Secretary" and protestor in chief ! but who , as other letters of the same period disclose , was not the only repentant
gentleman " truly desirous" to witness " the ulterior arrangements . " The English Secretary , Sir E . A . H . Lechmere , Bart , in 1870 , renewed , with the Due de Bentivoglio , Vice-Chancellor of the Roman Council ,
the propositions i ' or an alliance ; the former negociations were referred to , and a desire was expressed by the Englishman to let all bye-gones remain in the shadows of the past . He explained the practical labours of the Order in
Bro. Holmes's Lecture On The Orders Of The Temple And Hospital.
England , and offered to unite and work with the other branches in that great cause of humanity which has ever been the distinguishing princi ple of the Order . These advances were courteousl y met , but declined on the old , and only question of religious difference ; the Vice-Chancellor
replying ( on the 2 nd 01 May , 1870 ) that the alliance could not be made with members of any other church than the Roman Catholic . He said "this Church is not only a belief , but a visible external society . All the institutions which depend upon her must exist within her
pale—thc visible pale of the Roman Catholic Church . Purity of intention , works of charity , serious aspirations , are aU most laudable in themselves , but in no way modify the absolute conditions imposed by our organisation . " Whether this is a more enlightened view than
was taken by the older Kni ghts , who are chronicled by de Boisgelin and Taafe , or by the Roman Council in 1858 , your readers are as -well able to judge as I am . The English Secretary finally addressed to the Due de Bentivoglio an
enquiry whether his communications were to be considered official . The Due ( on the 7 th of May , 1870 ) replied in the affirmative , but added , "In our relative positions , that is , in those of our Orders , no more official character can be given to this answer . "
And now , I trust , your readers may be relieved of a discussion which I have much regretted should be forced upon their attention . If Bro . Holmes had confined himself to the claims of the Masonic Order of Knights of Malta , which , in its present form , dates only from 1862 , as
Bro . Holmes and every othsr member of the Grand Conclave of Masonic Templars well knows , I should never have alluded to the subject of the English Langue of the order of St . John - , but when Bro . Holmes steps out of his way to make a gratuitous attack
upon a most unobtrusive institution , a genuine and lawful scion of a grand old Order , a fraternity which to the utmost of its means quietly pursues the one sole object of doing good ; it becomes necessary that such an attack , based , as it has been , upon ^ error and misrepresentation
shall be met by the exposure of its fallacies , and the demonstration of those facts which you have enabled me to lay before the readers of The Freemason . I have shown , I venture to say conclusively , that the constitution of the Order of St . John as a whole , was one of
self-government ; that each of its several national divisions was an independent langue regulated b y its own chapteral councils ; nay , I may have shown the independence of each member in that true republic where their own elected chief was but primus inter pares ; ant ! that the infallible
decree of Paschall II . relieved the Order from all Papal and w 3 \ ' » n : < ii _ interference , lt is too late now to say , as a mere convenience , that the intermeddling of the Pontiff" has been subsequently accepted by the Order : It may possibly be accepted by the Roman Council , but in such
acceptance they admit that their position is one of a local institution only , and this is a view which other existing branches of the Order -will no doubt feel that the Council at Rome is perfectly welcome to adopt . Tho Order of St . John was a sovereign and independent association
relieved from all interference , and opened to all Christians , by decisions of the Papacy now declared infallible ; thus no power can destroy the independance of thc fraternity , nor can any Roman Catholic section of it say , with truth , that the decrees and opinions of the Popes
Paschall II . and Pius VI . may be set aside and " legally ignored . " Tha admissions of members into the Order in England have been , and are , wholl y irrespective of political or other party feeling , and whilst the British Langue , constituted so as to place it
m accord with other aristocratic and chivalrous institutions of the present day , is essentiall y Protestant in its character , yet differences in Christian faith are not grounds of exclusion ; further , whilst the Order of St . John , in the
British Dominions , , will ever be actuated by the warmest sentiments of loyalty and devotion to the reigning Sovereign , and by fidelity to the British Constitution in Church and State , its object is , and will be , pre-eminently the cause of charity and
Bro. Holmes's Lecture On The Orders Of The Temple And Hospital.
of those hospitable virtues which presided over the Order at its inception in Palestine . In this work has the English Langue been ever ready to join with the Roman Council and its Langue of Italy ; in this earnest desire to aid the poor and
suffering , irrespective of creed , did it hold out the hand of brotherly alliance in 1843 ; with the same object of uniting the dismembered sections of the Order for purposes of human benefit , did it negociate in 18 $ 8 , when the Count de Gozze
proclaimed the Roman Council ' s admiration of "the frank , noble and judicious manner with which the London Council has received and appreciated our advances ; " and with the same noble aspirations , which mark the unobtrusive
action of the English Langue , did its Secretary , the Commander Sir Edmund A . H . Lechmere , Bart ., make his overtures to the Due de Bentivoglio in 1870 . The English Langue has been regardless of
creed , but has looked on Religion , the law of love , impressed on each page of the Gospels , as the true source of union betwixt men of every race ; it regrets the conflict of Churches , feeling that even justice and conscience are not always
gifted with that reflex intelligence which can see in the claims of others the portraiture of the same rights they defend for themselves , and whilst feeling that immediate success is given but to few , it has patiently awaited the dawn of better things , and has endeavoured in the pursuit
of the objects cf which I subjoin a statement , and with which the Roman Council has repudiated any connection , to carry out the only principle imposed by its organisation , that of help to the poor and suffering , and love and charity to all .
T . he objects and purposes of the Order of St . John of Jerusalem in England , are : — I .
" Generally , the encouragement and promotion " of all works of humanity and charity in the " relief of sickness , distress , suffering and danger , " and the extension of the great principle of the "Order . —PRO UTILITATE HOMINUM . " II .
Aiding the restoration to health of sick poor , " without distinction of creed , by providing the " convalescent out-patients of public Hospitals " and Dispensaries with diets prescribed by the " Medical Officers , and visiting them at their " homes during the period of sickness . III .
" The foundation and maintenance of Cottage " Hospitals and Convalescent Homes , and Train" ing Establishmentsfornurses to attend the sick " poor ; and the formation of Provincial organi" sations in furtherance of the general objects of " the Order .
IV . " The promotion of a more intimate acquaint" ance with the wants of the poor in the time of " sickness , and the supplying of such informa" tion as may usefully aid the proper authorities " in the prosecution of measures for the im" provement of the localities and houses they " inhabit . "
V . " The further and continuous support of the " National Society for Aid to the Sick and " Wounded in War ( the establishment of which " in England was first initiated and mainly pro" moted by this Order ) , and the aid in such per" manent organisation during time of peace as " may be at once available upon the occurrence of " any necessity for active exertion . "
VI . "The award of silver and bronze medals for " special services on land in the cause of humanity , " especiall y for saving life in mining and colliery " accidents . "
The English Langue is essentially an honourable and distinguished association , it numbers on its roll of members , male and female , many of the oldest names amongst our titled and untitled
families , and I venture to predict that to this section of the venerable institution it lawfull y represents , will one day be mainly owing the preservation of the most interesting relic of the ancient chivalry of Europe .
Permit me again to express my deep sorrow that this discussion has been forced upon me , and intruded upon your readers , and my sincere
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Bro. Holmes's Lecture On The Orders Of The Temple And Hospital.
of the Order have no claim to the title because they are not in obedience to the Roman Council ? And is the mere assertion and bombast of this " protest " a law which shall deprive all others of their legal rights ? 4 . The legal existence of the Evangelical
Bailiwick of Brandenburg , here proclaimed on behalf of the Roman Council whose fulminations the allies of Bro . Holmes would fain exalt into law when convenient , will fully prove to your readers the value they should put upon the
oracular opinions Bro . Holmes has had instructions from his friends to put forward . Those who utter railing accusations , those guilty of unprovoked attacks , those who base not their assertions on established facts , should have good memories .
15 . Here we are informed that beyond the Priories enumerated , and certain Knights of Justice and Devotion received by the Lieutenant and Roman Council , all those who call themselves Knights of St . John are legally ignored . Yes , this is plain , but , as 1 before observed , what
then ? Are all the other lawful Knights of the Order deprived of their dignity ? Assume that the Knights of the Greek Church in Russia sent over a declaratory protest they had no " organic connection" with the honourable society at Rome styling itself the Sacred Council , inasmuch
as that society is of more modern formation ; that the society at Rome was never appointed b y the Order , and has no lawful claims to position as a directing body ; that it is not derived from , or representative of , any other section of the Order than the , Langue of Italy , is the birth of
the present century and nothing more than a local institution ; that it fulfils no hospitaller duties , nor has any object other than to live at ease in Rome on the fragmentary revenue of the Order , which ought to be devoted to the help of the poor : that it accepts the interference of the
lope in matters with which he has nothing whatever to do , nor ever had since the days of Paschall II . and is consequently not representative of its princip les or observant of its laws and sovereign independence ; that it has power only over those who chose to acknowledge its
authority , and that its pretensions to dictate in any way " are legally ignored . " Would such a protest as this deprive the Roman Council of any rights it lawfully possessed ? Assuredly not . And , as assuredly , no protest or dictum of that same Council can alter any single position which Russia , Austria , or England has a right to
occupy . 6 . The signataries require their names to be erased from the lists before referred to . This has been necessarily answered in No . 1 . The authors of this " protest" probably thought it a very clever expedient ; but 1 much
mistake my brethren of the ancient and honourable Craft of Freemasonry if they consider the proceeding at all on the square , and if they do not view it as about as shabby a piece of double dealing as they have ever had the misfortune to meet with .
The Roiinn Council probably repented having too readily consented to precipitate action , I ' or on the 2 . 3 rd of January , i 860 , thirteen months , only , after he had signed tlie protest , the Count de Goz / e wrote to a well-known member of the English Langue , telling him
that the intentions of the Roman Council remained the same , that the substantial basis was unaltered and that the Catholic Priory , once for all constituted , would announce the English Langue as already existing , and he added " I need not tell you , Monsieur lc Chevalier , how
trul y desirous I am that this constitution should be realised as a primary condition to lead to "ulterior arrangements . " And this from the very "Magisterial Secretary" and protestor in chief ! but who , as other letters of the same period disclose , was not the only repentant
gentleman " truly desirous" to witness " the ulterior arrangements . " The English Secretary , Sir E . A . H . Lechmere , Bart , in 1870 , renewed , with the Due de Bentivoglio , Vice-Chancellor of the Roman Council ,
the propositions i ' or an alliance ; the former negociations were referred to , and a desire was expressed by the Englishman to let all bye-gones remain in the shadows of the past . He explained the practical labours of the Order in
Bro. Holmes's Lecture On The Orders Of The Temple And Hospital.
England , and offered to unite and work with the other branches in that great cause of humanity which has ever been the distinguishing princi ple of the Order . These advances were courteousl y met , but declined on the old , and only question of religious difference ; the Vice-Chancellor
replying ( on the 2 nd 01 May , 1870 ) that the alliance could not be made with members of any other church than the Roman Catholic . He said "this Church is not only a belief , but a visible external society . All the institutions which depend upon her must exist within her
pale—thc visible pale of the Roman Catholic Church . Purity of intention , works of charity , serious aspirations , are aU most laudable in themselves , but in no way modify the absolute conditions imposed by our organisation . " Whether this is a more enlightened view than
was taken by the older Kni ghts , who are chronicled by de Boisgelin and Taafe , or by the Roman Council in 1858 , your readers are as -well able to judge as I am . The English Secretary finally addressed to the Due de Bentivoglio an
enquiry whether his communications were to be considered official . The Due ( on the 7 th of May , 1870 ) replied in the affirmative , but added , "In our relative positions , that is , in those of our Orders , no more official character can be given to this answer . "
And now , I trust , your readers may be relieved of a discussion which I have much regretted should be forced upon their attention . If Bro . Holmes had confined himself to the claims of the Masonic Order of Knights of Malta , which , in its present form , dates only from 1862 , as
Bro . Holmes and every othsr member of the Grand Conclave of Masonic Templars well knows , I should never have alluded to the subject of the English Langue of the order of St . John - , but when Bro . Holmes steps out of his way to make a gratuitous attack
upon a most unobtrusive institution , a genuine and lawful scion of a grand old Order , a fraternity which to the utmost of its means quietly pursues the one sole object of doing good ; it becomes necessary that such an attack , based , as it has been , upon ^ error and misrepresentation
shall be met by the exposure of its fallacies , and the demonstration of those facts which you have enabled me to lay before the readers of The Freemason . I have shown , I venture to say conclusively , that the constitution of the Order of St . John as a whole , was one of
self-government ; that each of its several national divisions was an independent langue regulated b y its own chapteral councils ; nay , I may have shown the independence of each member in that true republic where their own elected chief was but primus inter pares ; ant ! that the infallible
decree of Paschall II . relieved the Order from all Papal and w 3 \ ' » n : < ii _ interference , lt is too late now to say , as a mere convenience , that the intermeddling of the Pontiff" has been subsequently accepted by the Order : It may possibly be accepted by the Roman Council , but in such
acceptance they admit that their position is one of a local institution only , and this is a view which other existing branches of the Order -will no doubt feel that the Council at Rome is perfectly welcome to adopt . Tho Order of St . John was a sovereign and independent association
relieved from all interference , and opened to all Christians , by decisions of the Papacy now declared infallible ; thus no power can destroy the independance of thc fraternity , nor can any Roman Catholic section of it say , with truth , that the decrees and opinions of the Popes
Paschall II . and Pius VI . may be set aside and " legally ignored . " Tha admissions of members into the Order in England have been , and are , wholl y irrespective of political or other party feeling , and whilst the British Langue , constituted so as to place it
m accord with other aristocratic and chivalrous institutions of the present day , is essentiall y Protestant in its character , yet differences in Christian faith are not grounds of exclusion ; further , whilst the Order of St . John , in the
British Dominions , , will ever be actuated by the warmest sentiments of loyalty and devotion to the reigning Sovereign , and by fidelity to the British Constitution in Church and State , its object is , and will be , pre-eminently the cause of charity and
Bro. Holmes's Lecture On The Orders Of The Temple And Hospital.
of those hospitable virtues which presided over the Order at its inception in Palestine . In this work has the English Langue been ever ready to join with the Roman Council and its Langue of Italy ; in this earnest desire to aid the poor and
suffering , irrespective of creed , did it hold out the hand of brotherly alliance in 1843 ; with the same object of uniting the dismembered sections of the Order for purposes of human benefit , did it negociate in 18 $ 8 , when the Count de Gozze
proclaimed the Roman Council ' s admiration of "the frank , noble and judicious manner with which the London Council has received and appreciated our advances ; " and with the same noble aspirations , which mark the unobtrusive
action of the English Langue , did its Secretary , the Commander Sir Edmund A . H . Lechmere , Bart ., make his overtures to the Due de Bentivoglio in 1870 . The English Langue has been regardless of
creed , but has looked on Religion , the law of love , impressed on each page of the Gospels , as the true source of union betwixt men of every race ; it regrets the conflict of Churches , feeling that even justice and conscience are not always
gifted with that reflex intelligence which can see in the claims of others the portraiture of the same rights they defend for themselves , and whilst feeling that immediate success is given but to few , it has patiently awaited the dawn of better things , and has endeavoured in the pursuit
of the objects cf which I subjoin a statement , and with which the Roman Council has repudiated any connection , to carry out the only principle imposed by its organisation , that of help to the poor and suffering , and love and charity to all .
T . he objects and purposes of the Order of St . John of Jerusalem in England , are : — I .
" Generally , the encouragement and promotion " of all works of humanity and charity in the " relief of sickness , distress , suffering and danger , " and the extension of the great principle of the "Order . —PRO UTILITATE HOMINUM . " II .
Aiding the restoration to health of sick poor , " without distinction of creed , by providing the " convalescent out-patients of public Hospitals " and Dispensaries with diets prescribed by the " Medical Officers , and visiting them at their " homes during the period of sickness . III .
" The foundation and maintenance of Cottage " Hospitals and Convalescent Homes , and Train" ing Establishmentsfornurses to attend the sick " poor ; and the formation of Provincial organi" sations in furtherance of the general objects of " the Order .
IV . " The promotion of a more intimate acquaint" ance with the wants of the poor in the time of " sickness , and the supplying of such informa" tion as may usefully aid the proper authorities " in the prosecution of measures for the im" provement of the localities and houses they " inhabit . "
V . " The further and continuous support of the " National Society for Aid to the Sick and " Wounded in War ( the establishment of which " in England was first initiated and mainly pro" moted by this Order ) , and the aid in such per" manent organisation during time of peace as " may be at once available upon the occurrence of " any necessity for active exertion . "
VI . "The award of silver and bronze medals for " special services on land in the cause of humanity , " especiall y for saving life in mining and colliery " accidents . "
The English Langue is essentially an honourable and distinguished association , it numbers on its roll of members , male and female , many of the oldest names amongst our titled and untitled
families , and I venture to predict that to this section of the venerable institution it lawfull y represents , will one day be mainly owing the preservation of the most interesting relic of the ancient chivalry of Europe .
Permit me again to express my deep sorrow that this discussion has been forced upon me , and intruded upon your readers , and my sincere