Knights Templar.

history , aided by Masonic tradition , he might have been enabled to dispel the darkness which has hitherto impeded our power to trace the true means by Avhich the Chivalric Order of Knights Templar has been transmitted doAvn to the present time , and how it became connected with Ereemasonry . Afc the period alluded to , many Knights , it is true , took refuge in the Monasteries in

York , but others fled to Scotland ; and the Scotch Templars claim an uninterrupted descent from Walter de Clifton , ' Grand Preceptor of Scotland , in 1809 , and afterwards Grand Master to Prince Charles Edward Stuart , elected Grand Master , in 1745 , and his successor Sir Knighfc John Oliphant of Bachilfcon , who died in 1795 . EreemasonrySir Kniht Masson tell uswas practised

, g , by fche Monks during tho dark ages , and fco them we are indebted for its preservation . Edwy , King of Northumberland , was converted by his wife , and baptized by Pauliuus , afterwards Archbishop of York , in that city , A . D . 625 , in a temporary wooden building erected for the purpose , and in fche following year he laid the foundation of the first stone Cathedral . These historical

facts confirm the Masonic tradition thafc Edwy sat as Grand Master Mason at the earliest Grand Lodge ever held in England , and Masonic lodges ancl encampments continued to meet in York as late as 1787 . Those Knights who had been previously initiated in Palestine would naturally join the fraternity , by whom they were most joyfully received . The Templars are known to

have practised secret rites in the bosom of their consistories ; and they were enabled to continue to celebrate them under the shelter and privacy of the lodge room , and these rites slightly , but perhaps , unavoidably impaired

by time , have been transmitted to us under the form of the Masonic Rose Croix and Kadosh degrees . Though the Order was outwardly dissolved , the surviving knights still clung together , united by one common bond , and . unwilling to see their venerable institution perish , and confident in the firm trust that the justice of God would ultimately free them from the

unjust ban under which they laboured , and clear their memories from the false and scandalous charges heaped upon them by their unrelenting persecutors , they resolved to admit a select few of their Masonic brethren , upon whose honour and integrity they could safely rely , under a solemn oath of secresy , to the privileges of their beloved and time-honoiu * ed body ; and these knights

have transmitted to us the true Order of Knights Templar , stript , ifc is true , of all its outward poiver and wealth , but retaining all its religious purity . The Ereemasons , as a mere body of builders , which , with all clue deference to the opinion of Sir Knight How , the Templars neverpretendedtobe , would never have dreamt of instituting an Order of Knihthoodmuch less one

g , assuming the title of a chivalric body , still in existence , but they joyfully received from the Templars , the gift ol their new Masonic degrees of Rose Croix , Ne Pins Ultra , and Kadosh ; and ifc was nofc till long after those degrees had been thoroughly established as parfc of Ereemasonry , thafc a species of traditional Templarism sprang up , and warrants were granted bunauthorised and spurious

y bodies , arrogating to themselves the titles of Early Grand Encampments of England and Ireland . Meeting with no opposition , they spread widely till the true Knights ol the Order , who had hitherto maintained an inviolable

secresy , were compelled , m their own defence , to organise legitimate encampments , which first met in York , Bristol , and Salisbury . Matters continued in this very unsatisfactory state till 1804 , when the heads of the Order in England met together , and resolved to rescue it from its degraded position , and obtained a charter of constitution from H . R . H . the Duke of Kentas Royal Grand Patron

, of the Order , under the title of the Exalted Religious and Military Orders of the Holy Temple and Sepulchre , and of Sfc . John of Jerusalem , H . R . D . M ., K . D . S . H ., and ifc is worthy of remark , that in this authentic document , a copy of which may be seen in the reading-room at

Freemasons' Hall . The words Mason , Masonic , Rose Croix , or Ne Plus Ultra , are never once met with in any part of it , ancl no doubt can exist , that its framers intended to sei * er all connection between the Chivalric Order ancl Ereemasonry , nor do they occur in any one of the warrantsgranfcedby the Duke of Sussex , one of which now lies before me ; and so great a repugnance hacl he to Knights

Templars continuing to practice fche High Gracie of Ereemasonry , that all the time he was Grand Master , he never once called a Grand Conclave , although , in the certificates issued from the Grand Chancellor ' s Office , the Temple Order was still mixed up AA'ith the Masonic Rose Croix and Kadosh degrees . In these views his successors Colonel Tynte entirely coincided , and on the

establishment in this country of the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Rite , he relinquished to that body all control over the Masonic degrees , ancl Sir Knight Cox AA'as the first Grand Registrar who erased from the Knights Templars' certificates all traces of the High Grades , bufc on the newly engraved plates , the word Masonicwasthrough the influence of Grand Chancellor

, , Emly allowed to remain , and the unsightly apron continued to deform the otherwise handsome and correct costume of the Order . The initial letters H . R . D . M . have puzzled many Masonic commentators , but I believe on the authority of an eminent Hebrew scholar , they are a corruption of a verb signifying , to inherit , and which was probably

added to the original title of a poor soldier of the Temple , meaning in Eastern phraseology the lot of his inheritance . The word K . D . S . H ., in the original Hebrew , signifies holy , ancl Knighfc Templar K . D . S . H , Holy or Priestly Knight , was an appellation commonly borne by tho early companions of the Order ; and although these letters still remain in fche charter , they are never used in Templarism , and when mefc with , mean the 30 ° of the Ancient and Accepted Rite , or the Philosophical

College of Princes K . D . S . H . ; it is a very high distinction , seldom attained , even by eminent Ereemasons , and the Templar who is entitled to it is not allowed to wear the jewel , either in his private encampment or in Grand Conclave . The Scotch Templars also coquetted with Masonry , bufc in 1808 rudely cast her off , and in 1811 accepted a

Charter from the Duke of Kent . The only pleas , indeed , thafc can be advanced for fche continued connection between the Order and the Craffc , are , thafc out of gratitude to the brethren who so generously succoured the Templars when ungrateful Christendom abandoned them to their fate . Ereemasons only ivere admitted into their revived encampmentsand

, that except as Masons , the meetings of the Templars as a secret armed society would be illegal ; bufc this is a mistake , fche Duke of Sussex obtained the same privileges for the Templars as he did for the Masons . The Scotch Priories have for many years admitted the uninitiated ; there is nothing inherent in their constitution to prevent the English Encampments from following their example ;

and ifc ivould also approximate them still nearer to each other . It is , therefore , to be hoped that when Grand Conclave sanctions the proposed alterations in the statutes , now under revision by Sir Knight Hinxman , the very eminent and indefatigable Provincial Grand Commander for Kent , the unknightly as well as unsightly apron may be abolished , and fche word Masonic be also

obliberated from the ritual and certificates : and if the annual reports of Sir Knighfc Shufctleworfch , the Grand Vice Chancellor , are correct , the orders of Knights Templar , and Hospitallers of St . John of Jerusalem need no adventitious aid , but can well afford to stand upon their own merits , as there is a steady increase of members , both in numbers and rank , and new encampments are

continually formed both at home and abroad . Asking a pardon for thelengfch of this communication , I remain , Dear Sir Knight , yours most fraternally , SCRUTATOR .