JAM» UK whether the brothers received in England or elsewhere had not A^Lisit). °f their own free will confessed what these observances were. They were, moreover, required to state whether a bell was rung, or other signal given, to notify the time of the assembling of the chapter ; whether all the brethreu, without exception, were summoned and in the habit of attending ; whether the Grand Master could relax penances imposed by the regular clergy ; whether they believed that the Grand Preceptor or visitor could absolve a layman who had been excommunicated for laying hands on a brother or lay servant of the order ; and whether they believed that any brother of the order could absolve from the sin of perjury a lay servant, when he came to receive the discipline in the Temple-hall, and the serving brother scourged him in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, &c. &e. Between the 29th of January and the 6th of February, thirtyfour Templars, many of whom appeared for the first time before the inquisitors, were examined upon these articles iu the churches of St. Botolph without Aldgate, St. Alphage near Cripplegate, and St. Martin de Ludgate, London. They deny everything of a criminatory nature, and declare that the abominations mentioned in the confessions and depositions made in France were not observances of the order ; that the Grand Master, Preceptors, visitors, and brethren in France had never observed such things, and if they said they had, they lied. They declare that the Grand Preceptor and brethren in England were all good men, worthy of faith, and would not deviate from the truth by reason of hatred of any man, for favour, reward, or any other cause ; that there had been no suspicion in England against them, and no evil reports current against the order before the publication of the papal bull, and they did not think, that any good man would believe the contents of the articles to be true. From the statements of the prisoners, it appears that the bell of the Temple was