Address Of The V. H. And E. Sir Kt. Col. W.J. B. Macleod Moore.

tion , aud I AVIII , therefore , briefly trespass upon your time and patience by giving yon a short sketch of the order , Avhich I trust Avill not be uninteresting , Avith my OAvn impressions , gathered from my very varied readings and researches on the subject . The order commonl y knoAvn as "Knihts

g Templar , " in connection with the Masonic society , represents , and has ahvays been admitted to represent tho ancient order of knighthood of that name which had its rise in the Crusades , and Avas instituted in 1118 ; violentlybut only outAvardly

sup-, pressed by Philip Le Bel , King of France , and Pope Clement the 5 th , by Bull of abolition , dated 3 rd April , 1312 , the order Avas not entirely abolished ; its formal dissolution b y the Pope , and the confiscation of its property could not and did not

destroy all the brave and noble spirits Avho had been so long associated together ; uniting themselves to other existing orders of kni ghthood , they perpetuated their OAVU , and thus preserving the memory- , as well of their greatness as of their misfortunes , continued their assemblies Avithout attracting attention . The accusations by which the suppression of the order was sought to

be achieved by the Papal power , united with nearly all the monarchs of Christendom , Avas but a cloak to conceal the actual motives Avhich influenced their persecutors , and the pretences under cover of which they Avere arraigned were utterly false and

Avithout foundation . When the Holy Laud was lost and abandoned after the capture of Acre , the Templars , returning to their numerous weal thy precep tones spread over Europe , seemed to haA * e given up all further thoughts of fighting for the Hol

y Sepulchre . The order was no longer of use as a military body , and it Avas felt that their day Avas past . Between them and King Philip of France a bitter and und ying hatred had been engendered by numerous acts of arrogance and insubordination against

his authority . Their enormous Avealth and great military poAver inflamed his avarice and roused his jealousy * , as leading thorn to aspire to a jurisdiction independent of kings , considering themselves superior to monarchs aud other potentates . On the

other hand , they * arrogated to themselves a higher degree of knowledge in all things , and ( aught in their secret conclaves , Avhere none but the most trusted members Avere admitted , that the Papal power Avas a false

and dangerous assumption of authority over the minds and consciences of men , and that very * many of the dogmas of Rome Avere gross and childish superstitions ; they also cultivated and assumed more liberal A'iews of faith and religion than those current at

the time , being Avell acquainted Avith the ancient mysteries , the learning , legends , and traditions of the people they had come in contact with iu the East—hence the Order of the Temple Avas felt by both king and Pope to be highly dangerous to the

perpetuation of their despotism over the souls as Avell as the bodies of mankind , and Avas folioAved by the most ruthless attempts utterly to destroy it . Attempts have been made at different times to revive the chivalric Order of the

Temple , and restore it to its former recognized position amongst the orders of knighthood , but without any satisfactory result ; and various theories have been brought forward to account for the connection that exists between it and Freemasonry .

The origin of this connection has always been , aud I believe Avill continue , one of those enigmas Avhich will never be satisfactorily cleared up , for there is no real

connection between the order and Freemasonry as regards aim , object and ceremonial , still the order , as IIOAV known , requires that Freemasons , aud Freemasons only , can be admitted to its chivalry , but it is an error to class it amongst the purely

Masonic degrees , a classification for Avhich there is no warrant . Its Christian and Trinitarian character is sufficient proof of this . It merely claims to have traditionally preserved the dogmas and rites of the Templars from obliA'ion , perpetuating in a

symbolic form the idea on Avhich the original order Avas founded . Amongst the many theories set forth as proofs of that legendary claim , some writers confidently assert that the order in its present form Avas preserved and handed down through

what are called the lhmles Grades , a system of rites and degrees principally derived from the ancient mysteries and secret societies of the middle ages , to which attention Avas first directed on the continent of Europe at the beginning of the last

century . Many of them had long previously existed , although , from their secret nature and the absence of Avritten records of their proceedings , they Avere but little knoAvn . The Templar ritualistic ceremonies were