Masonic Jurisprudence.

ments in the Royal Arch ex officio . These are the Grand Master , Pro Grand Master , the Deputy Grand Master , the Grand Secretary , the Grand Treasurer , and the Grand Registrar , that is , if they are Royal Arch Masons . It will be ' uscful at thc outset of our investigations to note

these points of procedure , which differ from corresponding procedure in Craft Masonry ; and for facility of reference we will take them in the order in which they occur in thc Regulations . Thc relative precedence of oflicers in Grand Chapter is virtually the same as in Grand Lodge mutatis mutandis . But there is

an important proviso regarding the appointment to office which does not obtain in the Book of Constitutions . In Grand Lodge it is provided that the Grand Registrar must be an Installed Master , and the Grand Tyler must be a Master Mason , but it does not appear that any other officer need have any special

qualification . But in Article 32 of thc R . A . Regulations it is provided that none but First Principals may be appointed to oflice . In the case of the Grand Principals , companions appointed to those offices may be specially installed as First Principals without undergoing the year ' s service as such ,

Whilst thc Craft permits thc formation of District Boards , the R . A . Regulations are silent on the subject , but silence is generally taken to mean consent , and District Boards—or committees they are generally called—perform functions corresponding with those of District Boards .

Thc list of officers , Grand and Provincial , contains no mention of any Chaplain . The reason is that thc Third Principal represents the sacerdotal element . It has been contended that the order of precedence , J ., II ., and Z ., is incorrect , and that it should bc II ., J ., Z . Our Lord began His career by

exercising prophetical functions . He consummated the priestly function on Calvary , and he attained the regal rank when hc ascended from Olivet . Moreover , the combination of offices is always read " prophet , priest , and king . " In the Old Testament the prophetical office was always held to be inferior to the

priestly , and , moreover , J . was the most active colleague of Z . The precedence of a private chapter is determined by that of the lodge to which it is attached . In the event of such lodge being removed from the list , the chapter does not necessaril y dissolve , but it may be attached to another lodge .

A petition for a warrant to form a new chapter must be signed by nine Royal Arch Masons , and it must contain the names of the three companions whom it is proposed to instal in the Principals' chairs .

There are many who regard thc three Principals as being analogous to thc Master and Wardens . But the analogy is not good . The three are , conjointly , regarded as a Master , and each severally is so regarded .

In the Craft the officers ( Treasurer and Tyler excepted ) are appointed by thc newly-installed Master . In the chapter all officers arc elected and the officers thus elected may be invested and may enter upon the discharge of their duties the same

evening . As an extreme case , the writer has known a companion to be exalted , elected , and passed through the chairs of J . and II . to that of Z . all in the same evening . It is right to say that this

took place abroad , and the circumstances were highly exceptional . All companions elected to the Principals' chairs must be Installed Masters in the Craft , and must have served for a year in one of the subordinate offices—Scribe or Sojourner .

In Districts abroad this latter proviso is waived , and a further concession is made , which allows the Master or Past Master of a lodge holding under a foreign Constitution ( in communion , of course , with Grand Lodge ) to be installed as a Principal . In England a companion must serve a year in each Principal chair ,

but abroad , as pointed out above , the companion who is elected Z . may be installed in the third and second chairs successivel y without any qualifying period of service . The rule is also

waived in the case of a chapter at the time of its constitution . A Master of a lodge , may not serve for more than two years in succession , but a First Principal may serve for three . In the Craft not more than five candidates mav be initialed on one

occasion , but in the Koyal Arch there is no limit to the number of exaltations . Failure lo meet for one year may lead to the erasure of a lodge , but Supreme Grand Chapter is more long suffering ihan

Grand Lodge , and permits two years to elapse before putting the law in motion . All penal proceedings affecting the status of a Royal Arch companion in the ( raft have corresponding effect in the chapter .

In 1 N 93 . an important alteration was made in the Regulations . Previous lo that year , Arlicle 73 provided that no Freemason should he exalted unless he had been a Master Mason for at east 12 months . This period might be abridged , in foreign ) arts , to four weeks , subject to dispensation . In 1 S 93 , it was

Masonic Jurisprudence.

enacted that a brother might be exalted within one calendar month . The reason assigned for the change was presumably that the popularity of the Order mi ght be extended . Brethren were debarred from acceding to its ranks by reason of losing heart

through the delay . Whilst it is in the highest degree un-Masonic to ask a person who is not a Freemason to offer himself as a candidate , to ask a brother to join the Royal Arch has been regarded as meritorious rather than otherwise and it was

considered as good business , therefore , to secure candidates for the Order whilst in the first flush of their Masonic enthusiasm . Such enthusiasm it was considered might wear off and the brother be inclined to ask "Cui bono ? " if so long a period as a year were allowed to elapse .

Eight years have elapsed since the change was made , and the thoughtful Royal Arch Mason may ask himself " Cui bono ? " and may have to wait for an answer . If it had resulted in numerous accessions to the Order such fact might have sufficed for an

answer . But even then it would be required to be known whether such accessions were for the good of the Order , or whether it was desirable that it should be popularised to such an extent .

But the truth is that the new legislation has failed even in this elementary respect . No doubt new chapters have arisen and membershi p has increased . But is the rate of increase greater than can be accounted for by the rate of increase in the Craft ?

Or on thc other hand , has thc Order been cheapened for nothing ? And if the increase had been such as to justify the change , from that particular point of view , the next question is whether mere numerical increase is desirable . If a brother ' s

Masonic enthusiasm was worth anything at all , surely it would last over a year . And at all events the delay would ensure that only such were exalted into the Royal Arch as had proved that they possessed more than a superficial interest .

We shall refer to the clothing and other insignia in a future article , and only refer to it here to mention that all jewels and decorations recognised by the Grand Lodge may be worn in a chapter together with such as arc recognised in the chapter , and similarly Royal Arch jewels and decorations may be worn in a lodge .

We shall continue our remarks on the Royal Arch with reference to thc officers of a chapter and their duties , then with reference to the form and decorations of the chapter , and , lastly , the clothing and regalia .

Provincial Grand Lodge Of West Lancashire.

PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF WEST LANCASHIRE .

The annual meeting of the above Provincial Grand Lodge was held on VVednesday , the 12 th instant , at the Co-operative Hall , Leigh . Bro . the Right Hon , the Earl of Lathom , Prov . G . M ., presided over a largeattendance of the brethren . Amongst those also on the platform were Bros . J . J . Lambert , P . G D . ; J . Houlding , P . G . D . ; Rev . T . Barton Spencer , P . G . Chap . ; Robert Wylie , D . P . G . M . ; VV . Goodacre , Prov . G . Sec . ; Jas .

R . Spurgeon , LL . B ., P . G . W . of Liberia , and Present G . Lecturer ; and T . Shaw , Mayor of Leigh . The Prov . Grand Lodge having been opened , Lord LATHOM greeted Bro . Spurgeon , who returned his thanks to the Prov . Grand Master , and conveyed tothe brethren the greeting of the Craft in Liberia .

The roll 01 lodges was then called , and , with one exception , all were found to be represented . Apologies were read from a number of brethren , including the Earl of Derby , P . G . W . 6 The minutes of the Prov . Grand Lodge held in June last having been adopted , the accounts of the Prov . G . Treasurer were presented and unanimously approved .

The Prov . G Sec , Bro . VV . GOODACRE , in his annual report , referred to the death of her Majesty Queen Victoria , which had led to the severance of the intimate connection that had been continued through so many years between their late Grand Master and the Craft . When his Majesty the King , then Prince of Wales , succeeded the Marquis of Ripon as Grand Master , there were about 1500 lodges under the English Constitution ; when his surrendered the

Majesty Grand Mastership that number had nearly doubled . The great progress made during the past quarter of a century had been largely participated in by this province , for , whereas in the year 1 S 75 the province had 6 9 lodges with a roll of 4400 members , in 1885 there were 82 lodges and a roll of 4630 members , and they had at the present time 127 lodges with a membership roll exceeding 8500 ; so that during the

last 15 years the lodges in West Lancashire had increased by 55 per cent ., and the roll of members by 85 per cent . He was glad to be able to report that all rt turns had been made and all dues paid . The Lord Lathom Memorial Fund had resulted in the raising of over , £ 3500 , which had been allocated to the Benevolent Inslitutions of the province , and presentations by the Prov . G . Master had been granted in return for the sums the

given . Referring to the purposes of the Charities in province , Bro . Goodacre said that 20 years ago the Educational Institution had an income of £ 1280 a year , educating 93 children at a cost of . £ 671 , with invested funds amounting to ^ 15 , 900 . The income last year was £ 30 ^ 4 , with 210 children on the foundation , at a cost of ^ 1580 for the year ; while the invested funds had increased to £ 25 , 603 . The Hamer