1856, at which time the original Grand Chapter ceased to meet and elect Grand Officers. I ascertained that there had been a Convocation of Royal Arch Masons" at Dover, in 1859, at which meeting but one Chapter in the three then existing in that State was legally represented. At that irregular "Convocation" an election was had, Comp. GEORGE W. CHAYTOR being elected Grand High Priest. No other Convocation of the (so-called) Grand Chapter was held until January, 1868, a period of nine years. During this time Comp. CHAYTOR claimed to be Grand High Priest, but he persistently refused to assemble the Craft in Grand Convocation. Some three or four years subsequent to the meeting of 1859, a difficulty having arisen between Comp. CHAYTOR and the other members of Washington and La Fayette Chapter, No. 1, of which he was then High Priest, he, in his capacity of Grand High Priest, declared the said Chanter suspended-thereby placing himself in the anomalous position of a self-suspended Royal Arch Mason; that is, provided he possessed any powers as Grand High Priest.

At the meeting in January, 1868, there was simply an assemblage of Royal Arch Masons, no one of whom claimed to act in a representative capacity. Comp. CHAYTOR was present, but he refused to open a Grand Chapter, giving as a reason that his Chapter was under suspension, and therefore there were but two Chapters left in the State. Thereupon the assemblage resolved itself into a Royal Arch Convention,' and proceeded to elect Grand Officers and to adopt a Constitution, and this was the body which made application at the last Convocation of the General Grand Chapter to be recognized as the "Grand Chapter of the State of Delaware."

With these facts before me, there was but one conclusion to which I could legitimately arrive. Accordingly, on the 20th of October, 1868, I issued an edict, declaring that any legal existence heretofore attaching to a Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the State of Delaware had ceased; that said State Grand Chapter no longer existed; and that the several Chapters heretofore holding under it had become dormant from non-user and other reasons, and that, by the fact of the cessation of the Grand Chapter of the State of Delaware, all semblance of lawful governmental authority in that State had ceased, and the territory had become Masonically vacant; and therefore the authority of the General Grand Chapter of the United States did, of right, obtain, and was in full force and effect in said State of Delaware.

Thereupon, I did order and direct that the three Chapters which had formerly held under the Grand Chapter of Delaware, should be received and recognized as lawful Royal Arch Chapters, under the jurisdiction of the General Grand Chapter, with authority to resume and continue work under the warrants then held by them, until the pleasure of the General Grand Chapter was made known, or a State Grand Chapter was formed.

On the 9th day of January, 1869, upon application duly made, and under the power and authority vested in me by the Constitution of the General Grand Chapter, I issued an edict granting permission for the formation of a Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of the State of Delaware; and upon the 20th day of January, 1869, the legal representatives of the four Chapters in said State assembled in Convention at Dover, and proceeded to organize in due form a Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons for said State of Delaware, and to adopt a Constitution for the govern ment thereof. I availed myself of an invitation to be present at said Convention, and had the honor of installing the newly-elected Grand Officers; and I did then and there receive and welcome the said Grand Body into the family of Grand Chapters. Subsequently, to wit, on the 30th of January, 1869, I did, by special edict, order and direct that said Grand Chapter of the State of Delaware be enrolled under the jurisdiction of the General Grand Chapter of the United States, and be hailed and recognized accordingly.

We have quoted this portion of the General Grand High Priest's Address in full, for the reason that the course pursued in the formation of the Grand Chapter of Delaware has been bitterly animadverted upon in certain quarters where love for the General Grand Chapter is not extensively cherished, and we are glad of the oppor. tunity to place before our readers the facts in the case as represented by the General Grand High Priest.

The following decision was announced: M. F. TRUETT, a "Past Master Mason," was expelled from all his rights and privileges as such, by Helena Chapter, U. D. TRUETT appealed to the General Grand Chapter, which body referred the matter to the General Grand High Priest, with power to act. The decision of that officer is couched in the following language:

From the documents placed in my hands, I became satisfied that there had been great irregularities committed in the proceedings during the trial of the accused, which would have warranted the setting aside of the verdict; but my decision was based upon the principle that a Chapter U. D., being but a "temporary and inchoate

body," which exists only during the will and pleasure of the Grand Officer who brought it into being, and which he may dissolve at any time. It possesses no power to try or discipline its members. It was therefore ordered that the proceedings of Helena Royal Arch Chapter, U. D., in expelling M. F. TRUETT from his rights and privileges as a " Past Master Mason," be set aside as irregular, and be declared null and void; and that said brother be restored to all his rights and privileges of a Past Master Mason, and to the position which he held in said Chapter at the time said charges were preferred against him.

We are perfectly well aware of the futility of discharging the feeble catapult of of our dissent against the mighty bulwark of a General Grand High Priest's decis ion, especially when that decision is final and admits of no appeal; but to dissent is the privilege of the humblest, and we wish most respectfully but emphatically to place upon that decision the stamp of our disapproval. We can not agree with the General Grand High Priest that a Chapter U.D. is a "temporary and inchoate body." It has, for the time being, a complete organization, and possesses all the powers and prerogatives of a chartered and duly constituted Chapter, so far as the making of Royal Arch Masons is concerned; and we hold that a body having the power to make Masons, should have power to discipline or unmake them when found to be unworthy. It is true that a Chapter U. D. " exists only during the will and pleasure of the Grand Officer who brought it into being "; but the same rule will apply to a chartered Chapter, which can exist only during the will and pleasure of the Grand Body whose creature it is, and whose existence may even be temporarily stifled by the Grand High Priest himself during the intervals of the Convocations of the Grand Chapter. Had the General Grand High Priest taken the trouble to consult us in the matter, we should have advised him to reverse the action of that Chapter upon the ground of the irregularities in the proceedings at the trial, rather than in accordance with a principle so unsound as that upon which he acknowledges his decision to have been based.

In the report of the committee to whom the Address of the General Grand High Priest is referred, the matter is thus briefly disposed of :

The matter of the Grand Chapter of Delaware and the case of M. F. TRUETT, were referred by the General Grand Chapter at its last Convocation to the M.. E... General Grand High Priest, with power, and, therefore, his action in the premises is final. The committee express no opinion as to the correctness of the decision.

He reports having issued the following dispensations to form and open new Chapters since the last Triennial Convocation: To Seattle Chapter, at Seattle, Washingington Territory; Wyoming Chapter, at Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory; Cyrus Chapter, at Silver City, Idaho Territory; Boise Chapter, at Boise City, Idaho Territory; Honolulu Chapter, at Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands; Keystone Chapter, at Shanghai, China; White Pine Chapter, at Hamilton, Nevada; Walla Walla Chapter, at Walla Walla, Washington Territory; and Pueblo Chapter, at Pueblo, Colorado Territory.

In answer to a question, he decides" that the General Grand Chapter has never ceased to exist, and continues the existence it has always held." He reports that Florida has united with the family of Grand Chapters under the general head, and that Iowa, Vermont, and North Carolina have returned to their allegiance. He makes an eloquent and able appeal to the companions for the continuance of the General Grand Body, which doubtless had its effect, as the report of the committee recommending its continuance was adopted; and we sincerely hope that, before another Triennial Convocation shall be holden, every Grand Chapter in the Union will be enlisted under one banner, and that the General Grand Chapter, taking a new departure," will make its influence felt for good throughout the Masonic world.

On the proposition to abolish the degree of "Past Master," four States only voted in the affirmative, viz: Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee-Ohio casting two affirmative and two negative votes.

The amendment to the Constitution, making all Past Grand High Priests of State

Grand Chapters members of the General Grand Chapter, was adopted. The following resolutions were wisely adopted, by a vote of ninety-one to thirty :—

Resolved, That this General Grand Chapter decides that the use of substitutes is not in violation of the ritual of Royal Arch Masonry, or the installation charges delivered to a High Priest, and that substitutes may be authorized by Grand Chapters working under this jurisdiction.

Resolved, That while such is the interpretation of the ritual and installation charges by this Grand Body, Chapters are fraternally and earnestly urged to use full classes of actual candidates, except in cases of emergency, for the best interests of Royal Arch Masonry.

The resolution adopted by the General Grand Chapter at its Triennial Convocation held at Hartford, in 1856, recommending "Grand Chapters and the subordinate Chapters under its jurisdiction to abridge the ceremonies of the Past Master's degree within the narrowest constitutional limits, only retaining the inducting of the candidate into the Oriental Chair and the communicating of the means of recognition," was rescinded. We are glad to learn that this embargo upon the solemn and impressive ceremonies of the Past Master's degree is thus removed, and that, in future, candidates may enjoy the full benefit of the important lessons taught in this interesting degree.

A resolution was adopted taxing the State Grand Chapters the sum of one cent for each Royal Arch Mason borne upon the rolls of their subordinates, to defray the necessary expenses of the General Grand Chapter.

Comp. JOSIAH H. DRUMMOND, of Maine, was elected General Grand High Priest; Comp. ELBERT ENGLISH, of Arkansas, Deputy General Grand High Priest; Comp. CHARLES H. ORR, of Maryland, General Grand King; and California was honored by the election of our well-beloved Comp. CHARLES MARSH, Past Grand High Priest, as General Grand Scribe. We trust that Comp. MARSH will bear his "blushing honors" meekly, and that the "solid chunks of wisdom" which he must have acquired from his late association with the great Masonic lights of the Union may be disseminated for the benefit of his less favored companions.

Comp. CHRISTOPHER G. Fox was elected General Grand Secretary; address, Buffalo, N. Y.

ALABAMA.

The Grand Chapter of Alabama held its forty-fourth Annual Convocation in the city of Montgomery, commencing on the sixth day of December, 1870, the M.. E.. H. CLAY ARMSTRONG, Grand High Priest, presiding, the R.. E.. DANIEL SAYRE being Grand Secretary.

The Address of the Grand High Priest represents the condition of the Royal Craft as flourishing throughout the jurisdiction:"Peace, prosperity and harmony," he says, "prevail, and the lights are burning brightly upon our altars."

He pays a glowing tribute to the memory of the R.. E.. Companion E. M. HASTINGS, who for twenty years had been Grand Treasurer of the Grand Chapter, and who died on the 20th day of May, 1870.

Sundry decisions are rendered, in all of which we heartily concur, and we desire to ejaculate an especial amen to the following paragraph:

The power to grant dispensations is a prerogative not to be lightly exercised-certainly not merely for the convenience of individuals, but only in cases of necessity clearly made out, and when it is made manifest that the good of the Craft would be promoted thereby.

One dispensation was granted to form a new Chapter, and one special dispensation to a Chapter to hold an election for officers at a time other than that prescribed by the Constitution.

The attention of the Grand Chapter is called to the fact that a Past Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Michigan had been suspended by a subordinate Chap. ter for violating an edict of that Grand Body relative to the circulation of keys. The Grand High Priest thinks all such offenders should be expelled. We concur. The

tendency of the age is manifestly toward Masonry made easy, and if this tendency is not checked by the strong hand of authority, the result will be most disastrous. We have often heard of these so-called keys, but we have never seen one, nor have any, to our knowlege, been circulated in this State; a dealer in such wares would speedily come to the conclusion that this is an excellent country to emigrate from.

The following question from a subordinate Chapter was referred to a special committee at the last Annual Convocation: "Has the Grand Chapter either the right or the power to compel the observance of any ceremony in conflict with any conscientious scruples of any party against whom it is proposed to be enforced?" The committee submitted their report, and, as some discussion has been had upon this point in our own jurisdiction, and the report of the committee coincides exactly with our **views, we give it entire :

The committee will not consider this as an abstraction, but practically as connected with the case upon which the inquiry is predicated, and out of which it arises. "It would be ruinous to our masonic oganization, and introduce anarchy and confusion, to allow subordinate officers to disregard the work and ceremonies established by the Grand Body to which such officer, when he becomes a Mason, as well as at the period of his installation, pledges cheerful obedience. The distinction between the principal officer or body, and the subordinate, must be preserved, or the organization must fail. If a party in conforming to the behests of the Grand Chapter under which he is working, imagines that it involves a matter of principle to which he is conscientiously opposed, he may refuse to conform to it at the peril of being tried for recusancy; and if the Chapter to which he belongs allows its officers, respectively, to be the judges of the work, and whether it squares with their respective conscientious scruples, thus disregarding the work of the Grand Chapter, which alone has the right to declare what the work shall be, when in session, and the enforcement of which during the vacation between its convocations it entrusts to the most Excellent Grand High Priest, the Chapter itself becomes recusant, and is liable to be dealt with by the Grand Chapter.

Your committee deem this a sufficient response to the inquiry presented to them; only adding, that Masonry, when properly understood, in none of its departments makes any requisition which contravenes the enlightened consciences of men."

The report on correspondence is again from the pen of Comp. P. J. PILLANS, and presents an interesting resume of the proceedings of thirty-four Grand Chapters, our own included. Comp. PILLANS makes his conge as if it were his intention to lay down the pen, and surrender to other hands the labor which he has for several years so faithfully performed; we hope if our worthy companion has come to this determination, that he may be induced to reconsider it, for we can ill afford to lose from the field of correspondence a writer of Bro. PILLAN'S experience and ability. Sixty-two chartered Chapters are borne upon the roll, with an aggregate membership of twenty one hundred and eighty-four. The Convocation occupied three days, and the Grand High Priest and Grand Secretary were both reelected.

CANADA.

The Grand Chapter of Canada held its fourteenth Annual Convocation in the city of Hamilton, on the ninth day of August, A. D. 1871, the M... E... T. DOUGLAS HARRINGTON, Grand Z., presiding, the R.. E.. THOMAS BIRD HARRIS being Grand Scribe E., or Grand Secretary.

The Grand Z., in his Address, represents the condition of Royal Arch Masonry as most satisfactory; and judging from the reports of the Grand Superintendents of the several districts, we think our Canadian Companions have reason to congratulate themselves upon the flourishing state of the Order in that jurisdiction. The Grand Z. alludes to the unfortunate difficulties and complications arising from the establishment of the Grand Lodge of Quebec in the following language:

I think of but one other subject which I conceive it to be my duty to allude to. Last year I had to do so. I mean the unfortunate difficulty connected with Craft Masonry in the Province of Quebec, and which, it is greatly to be lamented, has not yet been satisfactorily terminated, as all true Masons must wish and pray for. Of course you all know to what my present allusion points, and this continued discord and state

of misunderstanding is exercising baneful influence on our Order. Royal Arch Masonry is indirectly affected by it, and it is well calculated to do, and is doing injury in many ways. That the Grand Lodge of Quebec is an accomplished fact, it would be absurd to ignore. It has been unconditionally recognized by some twenty-three Grand Lodges already, and that other Grand Bodies will pursue a like course, I entertain no doubt. This is not a question for Grand Chapters to discuss, but it is my duty to inform you that I received a very courteous and fraternal communication in my capacity of your Grand First Principal, from the M. W. Grand Master of Quebec, who is likewise a member of high standing of this Grand Chapter, notifying officially the existence of the Grand Lodge of Quebec, and seeking for amicable and free intercourse, to which I replied in a similar spirit; and these letters are, of course, ready to be laid before you. I am quite without information from the Grand Lodge of Canada. I had given to me, from more than one quarter, clear testimony that bitter feelings were beginning to be engendered among our Royal Arch Masons, at Montreal especially, and that, greatly to their discredit, they were threatening to use, if not actualy doing so, the ballot-box as an instrument of strife! This I was resolved to render nugatory if possible, so far as Capitular Masonry was concerned, and it was partly in consequence of this that I granted dispensations for the two new Chapters in that city, the respective petitions coming to me from companions on the one part favorable, and the other hostile to the Grand Lodge of Quebec. I believe I did right, and that I am justified by the result.

Of course, an Address of this kind is not the document for the insertion of details-going before the outside world as it will do like its predecessors-and I would probably have been silent on the subject, only that as the principle of having a Grand Lodge for each Province of the Dominion has, we all know, been in a measure acknowledged and assented to, it really becomes simply a question of time as to the formation of separate Grand Chapters, and when the limit of our jurisdiction will be still more curtailed. It is the wisest course to look this contingency full in the face, and when that time does arrive, carry out the change in a truly Masonic and fraternal way-giving and receiving, bearing and forbearing, making mutual concessions if needful, and avoiding heartburnings and strife, scorning wordy warfare, but wishing instead God speed and prosperity to all concerned.

It is marvellous to me that any Royal Arch Mason can so far forget that (in my eye-) “ne plus ultra” obligation which he has voluntarily pledged himself to fulfil as a Master Mason, as to lose sight of the Five Points of Fellowship especially, and their full and entire significance, and more particularly when we call to mind that the Royal Arch is said to be the perfection of the third degree of Craft Masonry.

If but the half has been said in bitterness that is reported to have been uttered, in consequence of the Quebec difficulties, which after all originated in a difference of opinion, it is a discredit to the parties using such language, and a scandal to Masonry-that is all I can say--and I thus record my conviction."

We cannot see the propriety of discussing the merits of this much vexed question in the Grand Chapter; on the contrary, we fear such a course will have a tendency to introduce a disturbing element into the now harmonious Councils of the Royal Craft, and engender there those feelings of bitterness which now unfortunately appear to exist in the halls of the symbolic Lodges. We agree with the committee to whom was referred the Address of the Grand Z., who in the closing paragraph of their report, say:

"Your Committee are of opinion that no good object can be secured by the disenssion in this Grand Chapter of the difficulties thus unhappily existing,, or of their causes; but they would desire to urge upon all members of Grand Chapter, in their individual capacity as Masons, to use their influence and counsel towards the restoration of thorough and complete Masonic harmony in the Province of Quebec, that our Masonic edifice may indeed be complete, and that the capestone of Peace may crown the Arch of Masonry with all its attendant blessings-and that Peace, Love and Harmony, may ever prevail amongst all our members.

We devoutly hope, that before the Grand Chapter of Canada shall hold its next Annual Convocation, all existing difficulties will have been settled and Peace and Harmony prevail.

The Report on Correspondence is again presented by Comp. HENRY ROBERTSON, and is an able review of the proceedings of thirty-one Grand Chapters, including California for 1871.

By the tabular statement from returns for the year 1871, it appears that the number of Chapters now on the roll is 44; represented in Grand Chapter, 39; registrations and exaltations, 352; joinings, 69; withdrawals, 79; suspensions, 11;