The Autumn School Elections.

contributes three new cases—Nos . 17 , 20 , and 31—and West Yorkshire three—Nos . 19 , 27 , and 30 . West Lancashire , Hertfordshire , and Bristol are severally responsible for two candidates , Nos . 21 and 36 hailing from West Lancashire ; Nos . 29 and 43 from Herts ; and Nos . 32 and 34 from Bristol . The

others are distributed thus : No . 1 , with 312 votes , South Africa ( W . D . ) and Hants and the Isle of Wight ; No . 3 , with 77 votes to the good , Demcrara , British Guiana ; No . 8 , with 2465 votes in band , Argentine Republic ; No . 10 , Middlesex and West Australia , who brings forward 925 votes , and Nos . 11 and 12 ,

from South Wales ( W . D . and E . D . ) , respectively , the former having 1 043 and the latter 14 votes to help him on his way next month . The following are all new cases : No . 14 ( Bristol and Somersetshire ) ; No . 16 ( Worcestershire and Surrey ) , whose name , in the event of failure , will be removed from the list ; No .

22 ( Cumberland and Westmoreland ); Nos . 23 and 24 from Suffolk and Somersetshire ; Nos . 26 and 28 from Staffordshire and Surrey ; No . 33 , with claims on Warwickshire and

Staffordshire ; No . 38 from the Isle of Man ; No . 40 from Durham ; No . 42 , in whom Devonshire and Hants and the Isle of Wight are jointly interested ; and No . 46 hailing from Essex .

It remains for us to give the usual prominence to the children on the two lists who will have their names removed in

the event of their not winning places among the successful candidates . These are No . 5 ( Malta and London ) , No . 9 ( West Yorkshire ) , and No . 20 ( London ) on the Girls' List ; and No . 16 ( Worcestershire and Surrey ) and No . 41 ( Kent , Essex , and

London ) on the Boys' List ; and on behalf of these we earnestl y appeal to all Governors and Subscribers who are not alread y committed to the support of any candidate to give them the benefit of their votes and influence , so that they may not be disappointed of the benefits they have been adjudged worthy to receive .

Masonic Jurisprudence.

MASONIC JURISPRUDENCE .

[ COMMUNICATED . ] THE ROYAL ARCH . 1 . —THE FIRST PRINCIPAL .

In discussing the duties of the First Principal of a Royal Arch chapter , or Zerubbabel as he is called , it will not be necessary to refer at any length to the administrative aspect . The same considerations which guide the Wor . Master of a

Craft lodge should influence the companion who presides over a chapter , and these have been referred to at length in an article in the Freemason on September 23 rd , 18 99 , so that it is scarcely necessary to recapitulate what was said then .

Whilst the Worshipful Master is told during the ceremony oi his installation that his prototype was that prince of builders Adonirnm , he never again bears that name except at subsequent installations . In the chapter , however , the presiding officer is always known by the name of his prototype Zerubbabel . That

great Hebrew was the grandson ( not . the son as'slated by E / ra ) of Salathiel , son of Jeconiah , King of Judah , and , therefore , of royal descent . He was born in Babylon , as the Hebrew significance of his name imports , and at the beginning of the reign of Cyrus returned to Jerusalem with the sacred vessels in

his charge , as being the chief of the Jews who were then in captivity . He laid the foundations of the Second Temple , and restored the worship of Jehovah . His name occurs in the genealogies of our Lord in lhe Gospels of St . Matthew and St . Luke , but the name is written Zorobabel .

In the United States the presiding officers of the several Supreme Grand Chapters arc called Grand High Priests , the officers being J . and Z ., in that Order . Possibl y in a Republican State it was felt incongruous that the representative of royalty should come first .

A peculiarity of Royal Arch Masonry is the fact that the chapter is opened by Principals only . At the Quarterly Communication of Supreme Grand Chapter , held on August 5 th , 189 G , an attempt was made to introduce a change in this

procedure . E . Com ]) . Garrod moved : " That in the opinion of this Supreme Grand Chapter it is desirable that the practice of excluding from the opening of Royal Arch chapters companions other than Installed Principals be discontinued . ' '

The question had been raised as far back as 1 . S 80 , and was then negatived . Comp . Garrod himself , on February 1 st , 18 93 , had also mentioned the matter in Grand Chapter , but without making any motion on the subject . In support of his present proposition he adduced some extracts from the proceedings of the Provincial Grand Chapter of Durham , but he chiefly relied

Masonic Jurisprudence.

upon the absence of any reason for such exclusion . The seconder added that he thought the change in procedure should necessarily accompany the alteration in Article 73 alread y referred to as tending to make the Order still more popular . How a chance in a detail of ritual could affect outsiders in

the way suggested is not clear , but a much better argument was that Royal Arch Masons might be induced to attend chapter meetings with more regularity if admitted to what was often the only ritual work performed .

The motion was negatived by a large majority , on the very reasonable ground that , granted there did not seem to be any very excellent reasons why the practice should be maintained , it should require very excellent and forcible reasons indeed wh y the traditions of 150 years should be destroyed .

At the same Communication , Article 35 of the Regulations was altered in order to allow H . R . H . the Duke of Connaught , District Grand Superintendent of Bombay , to appoint a Pro District Grand Superintendent . Such procedure already existed

with regard to princes of the blood royal both in Grand Lodge , private lodges , District Grand Lodges and Grand Chapter , and the change proposed met with ready acceptance . On the principle of not making two bites of a cherry , one wonders why the proviso was not extended to Provinces as well as Districts .

In English Royal Arch Masonry the Second Principal bears the name of Haggai the prophet . In America , Haggai is third in order of precedence , and he is called the Scribe . Our Transatlantic brethren lose something by this as it destroys the force of the sublime illustration which represents our Lord as

Prophet , Priest , and King . As far as his share in the government of the chapter is concerned , the position of Second Principal is somewhat analogous to that of Senior Warden in lodge . In the course of the work Companion H . has little to do beyond giving the symbolical lecture . Haggai was not the

original colleague of Zerubbabel . The proclamation of Cyrus was made in the year B . C . 536 , and the work of rebuilding the temple was undertaken by Z . and Jeshua the high priest . Owing to the opposition of the Samaritans and to misrepresentations

made by them at the court in Babylon the work did not proceed beyond the foundation stone laying for some years , and it was not till B . C . 520 that Haggai came forward and expounded the law to the disheartened Hebrews , Aided by a rescript from Darius the building was resumed with vigour .

There is one point in the lecture of H . wlr . ch may be alluded to as possessing features of interest . The banners are said to bear the emblems of the 13 tribes , four larger banners bearing those of the leaders of each group of three . The list of the tribes is referred to as in Genesis \ Jix . and the names of the leading tribes in Numbers ii .

The tribes are referred to or enumerated five times in all in Holy Writ , namely , Genesis xlix ., Exodus i ., Numbers ii ., Joshua xv .-xix ., and Revelations vii ., and not one of these lists agrees with any other . The first enumerates the sons of Jacob without tribal reference . The second ignores Joseph , giving but 11

names . The third omits Joseph and Levi , but includes Ephraim and Manasseh . The fourth mentions the second half of the tribes of Manasseh , and the fifth leaves out Dan . The order in which they are named is interesting , the variations being considerable .

Reuben Keiihen Judah Judah Jucla Simeon Simeon Issaehar Joseph Reuben Levi Levi Zebiilun Manasseh Gail Judah Judah Reuben K p lnaim Asher

Zelnilun Issaehar Simeon Benjamin Naphtali Issaehar Zelnilun Gad Simeon Manasseh Dan ISenj .-miin K plii ' ain Zebtililn Simeon Gad Dan Manasseh Issaehar Levi

Asher Naphtali Benjamin Asher Issaehar Naphtali Gad Dan Naphtali Zebiilun Joseph Asher Asher Dan Joseph

Benjamin Naphtali Levi Benjamin In the / iftJi list Joseph must be taken as representing Ephraim . The leading tribes were Dan , Judah , Ephraim , and Reuben . The devices are a man , a lion , an ox , and an eagle .

These symbols are described in Ezekiel i . 10 and Revelations iv . 7 , and from a very early period they have been held to be emblematical of the four Evangelists , and the > Evangelists are thus represented in mediiuval art . The Third Principal takes the name of Jeshua , the high

priest . In Haggai and Zechariah he is called Joshua . He was the son ol Zoredech and the grandson of Seraiah , and like the two others was born in Bab ylon . As representative of the priestly caste he is practically the Chaplain of the chapter , and

shares with Z . the duty of offering prayer . In the government of the chapter he is practicall y Junior Warden . In the course of ceremonial work , besides offering prayer , he has to deliver the historical lecture . It is not worth while treating historical errors too seriously in a Masonic legend , but , still , when the latter