labors in the Grand Bodies, he was High Priest of his Chapter from as early as 1856 till 1868, continuously. He was as ready to exemplify the work in the Grand Chapter as to solve a knotty question of Masonic law.

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In his religious views he was a Methodist, and some knowledge of him may be gathered from his usual reply to the question as to his religious belief: How can I be anything but a Methodist, since that was the church of my mother?" But he was not aggressive; while strong and sure in the support of his own church, he had the largest toleration for the views of others.

When a man combines eminent ability with a pure life and conscientious discharge of important duties, his death is a loss to the world. Companion English was pre-eminent in all these, and to them we must add an affability that won the hearts of all who came in contact with him. The ability of his judicial decisions places him in the first rank of American jurists; and when he died, the judicial ermine fell from his shoulders without a single stain. That he was conscientiously faithful, the sacrifice of his life in the discharge of his duties shows only too well. The grief of his family for his death is consoled by the knowl edge that his domestic life was undimmed by a single blot; his Masonic brethren revere the memory of one whose example they may well imitate; and his church points to the record of a life so free from human frailties as rarely falls to the lot of man.

The high estimate in which he was held by his fellow citizens is attested by the fact that, although the day of his funeral was intensely hot, with a suffocating dust, the people came out en masse to show their respect for his memory.

The tribute adopted by his Commandery is so just that we copy it: "In the death of our beloved frater a great and irreparable loss has fallen upon us. He who was to us our strong tower of support, to whom we looked for guidance and counsel as the younger looks to the elder brother, has laid down his knightly sword and put by his armor of battle upon the coming of the great conqueror, Death. He was as the chief among us, to whom we turned for knowledge and for light. In all the relations of life, as husband, father, jurist, brother, knight or friend, he stood like a beacon light, shining from afar, to be seen and followed of men, and now, full of honors and of years, he has gone down to sleep the sleep of the just in the fairer lands of everlasting peace."

M. E. Frank E. Sleeper, Sabatis, re-elected Grand High Priest. R. E. Ira Berry, Portland, re-elected Grand Secretary.

NEBRASKA-1883.

The Seventeenth Annual Convocation of this Grand Chapter was held at Grand Island, December 4-5, A. D. 1883, A. I. 2413.

M. E. Wm. H. Munger, Grand High Priest.

R. E. Wm. R. Bowen, Grand Secretary.

Three Past Grand High Priests and representatives of twentythree subordinate Chapters present.

ABSENT.

The following letter from P. G. H. P. Warren was read, and ordered printed with the proceedings:

NEBRASKA CITY, November 30, 1883.

HON. WILLIAM H. MUNGER, Grand High Priest:

M. E. AND DEAR COMPANION: -For the first time in more than ten years I find myself unable to attend the annual convocation of our Grand Chapter, and the announcement of this fact is much more unpleasant to me than it can be to those companions whom I have been accustomed to meet from year to year. Professional engagements will absolutely prevent my attendance. I have a case set for trial on Wednesday, December 5, in the United States Circuit Court at Omaha, and our District Court here at home will also be in session then. We were taught that Masonry should not conflict with "the duties we owe to our neighbors or ourselves," and my strong desire to meet you must yield to imperative duty. Please present my regrets for my absence, and my personal regards to the Companions assembled. The misfortune is mine, and I foresaw it last year when the time of the annual convocation was changed. Yours fraternally,

E. F. WARREN, P. G H. P.

DECISIONS.

The following decisions were made and approved :

1st. Is it the intention of the order of consolidation that the conferring of the council degrees is imperative when demanded?

2d. How are records to he kept?

3d. Should the returns from subordinate chapters show the work in council degrees?

The first question I answered in the affirmative, with the qualification, "unless for cause."

The second did not, to my mind, present any question of Masonic law further than that records should be kept; whether kept in a separ ate book from the chapter degrees proper, was a matter discretionary with each chapter. Thinking it well, however, to have uniformity, and that this could best be attained by subordinate chapters acting upon the advice of your Grand Secretary, I submitted the question to him, and obtained his answer in the following words: "The records of each assembly of Royal and Select Masters should be made (in place according to date) in the chapter record book, and should be neither more nor less full than the record of each convocation of the chapter or the record of the meetings of the lodges held in the bosom of the chapter." This view of your Grand Secretary I approved and recommended in answering the question.

The third question was answered in the affirmative.

On the 5th of February I received a communication from Companion Henry N. Blake, of Livingston Chapter No. 10, making inquiry relative to the conferring the orders of Royal and Select Masters, as follows:

1st. Is it the duty of the officers of the chapter to confer the degrees?

2d. If so, should the degrees be conferred at a regular convoc ation of the chapter after calling off for that purpose?

3d. Is the High Priest ex-officio the Master of the council?

4th. Can we open a council, and charge a fee to Royal Arch Masons for conferring on them the degrees?

The first and third questions were answered in the affirmative. The second I answered, that the degrees could be conferred either at a regular or special convocation.

The fourth question I answered as follows:

"The fee which you can charge for conferring the council orders must depend upon the provisions of the by-laws of your chapter; a brother is entitled to receive all the degrees which are conferred in the chapter, and for the price stated in the by-laws at the time his petition is received, and he elected. The chapter has no right after his election to require an additional sum as a condition for advancement. A com

panion, however, whose petition was received, and who was elected prior to the merger, may be charged an additional sum for the council degrees, provided your by-laws are amended so as to require a separate sum for these orders before the companion makes application for them." On the 28th of May I answered the following questions:

1st. If a chapter suspends one of its members for non-payment of dues, does it have jurisdiction to subsequently try him for un-Masonic conduct, and expel the companion?

2d. When the companion who is suspended resides within the jurisdiction of a chapter other than that of which he is a member, which chapter has jurisdiction to try him for un-Masonic conduct, and pass sentence of expulsion?

Answer. Either chapter has jurisdiction.

On the 2d of July, M. E. James R. Reed, High Priest of Mackey Chapter, No. 24, made enquiry as to whether that chapter, with the consent of Adoniram Chapter, No. 13, could confer the Royal Arch degree upon a Most Excellent Master of Adoniram Chapter, No. 13, and if so, what would be the membership of the companion?

I answered that Mackey Chapter could confer the degree, and that the companion would be a member of Adoniram Chapter.

On the 5th of March, I received a communication from Companion Thomas Johnson, stating that Ashland Chapter, No. 12, at the time of the arrest of its charter, was indebted to him in the sum of six dollars, and requesting that the amount be applied on his dues at the Grand Secretary's office. I answered the companion that it was not within my power to audit his claim.

CLOSING.

In closing he says:

And now, my companions, such, in brief, has been my official action during the past year, a year in which each and every industry within our state has received its rich reward. We have had abundant reasons to render our thanks to the great I AM for his bounteous blessings. Our royal craft in prosperity has kept even pace with each and every avocation, evincing a warm and earnest devotion by our companions to the precepts of our order. But while we have cause for rejoicing, owing to our general prosperity as individuals and Masons, we have been reminded that death, the great leveler of the human race, has

visited our own and sister jurisdictions, and called to their eternal home some of the most useful craftsmen. I have during the past year received notice of the death of Joseph B. Chaffee, Grand Representative of this Grand Chapter, near the Grand Chapter of New York; of William B. Langridge, Grand Secretary of the Grand Chapter of Iowa, and O. H. Irish, first treasurer and a life member of this Grand Chapter. Companion Irish was to me personally a stranger, having been called to Washington to fill an important official station before I became an attendant upon the convocations of this Grand Chapter. The bright record of his Masonic services within this jurisdiction is, however, known to us all. I recommend that you appoint a committee to report a suitable memorial to the memory of the departed. In their death we are reminded that we, one and all, are fast nearing the ocean of eternity, that our career will soon be ended and nothing left but our works and the memories of our examples. How important it is that we strive to do good work, true work and square work, so that the memories of our lives may be to our surviving companions an example of noble manhood and true benevolence.

DISCIPLINE.

The following question was referred to the Committee on Jurisprudence:

A Royal Arch Mason, member of a foreign jurisdiction, now a resident of this jurisdiction, is engaged as a bar-tender in a saloon, dealing out liquors alike to Masons and cowans, thereby bringing discredit and disgrace upon the Fraternity. What is the duty of the High Priest of the chapter within whose jurisdiction the companion now resides, as to bringing the companion to trial or discipline?

Who reported thereon as follows:

We find nothing in the constitution, by-laws or standing resolutions of this Grand Chapter relating thereto, but we are unanimously of the opinion that when the good of Royal Arch Masonry requires, it would be the duty of the High Priest within whose jurisdiction the offender resides, to notify him to appear before the chapter, and there admonish him to cease such occupation, and if he persists in following the downward course, it would then be the duty of the chapter to prefer charges against him in the chapter where he holds his membership.

No Report on Foreign Correspondence.