GCConstitutions1798

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CONSTITUTION

Adopted July 12, 1798 by the Deputy Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Massachusetts

ARTICLE I

Regulating Meetings.

That this Deputy Grand Royal Arch Chapter shall be holden annually, at Boston and Newburyport alternately, beginning at the first on the 24th of the sixth month (September), at which time the Deputy Grand Officers shall be elected and installed; and in case of sickness or necessary absence the Deputy Grand High Priest or other Grand Officers may be installed by proxy.

ARTICLE II

Regulating Applications for Warrants.

That every petition for a warrant to open a new chapter of Royal Arch Masons, within the jurisdiction of this Deputy Grand Royal Arch Chapter, shall be signed by at least nine regular Royal Arch Masons, which petition shall be accompanied with a certificate from the next Chapter nearest the place where the new Chapter is intended to be opened, vouching for the moral character and Masonic ability of the petitioners, and recommending to the Deputy Grand Chapter to grant them a warrant.

ARTICLE III

Fees.

That the fees for warrants (until the Grand Royal Arch Chapter shall order otherwise) shall be forty dollars; but no warrant shall be granted for opening Lodges of Mark Master Masons, Past Masters, or Most Excellent Masters, independent of the Royal Arch degree.

ARTICLE IV

Chapters Established. How to be Supplied with Warrants.

That every Chapter of Royal Arch Masons already established within this State, and which shall be under the jurisdiction of this Deputy Grand Royal Arch Chapter, shall have a warrant signed by the Deputy Grand High Priest, King and Scribe, and countersigned by the Deputy Grand Secretary, confirming them in their rights and privileges as a Royal Arch Chapter, with rank and number according to the date of their establishment, for which warrant each of the said Chapters shall pay to the Deputy Grand Secretary the sum of five dollars, to defray the expense of executing the same.

ARTICLE V

Dues. How to be Assessed.

That the several Chapters under the jurisdiction of this Deputy Grand Royal Arch Chapter shall pay into the hands of the Treasurer an annual sum for the support thereof in proportion following, to wit: Every Chapter consisting of nine members the sum of three dollars, and for every additional member the sum of twenty-five cents, which said dues shall be paid regularly at the annual communication in September.

ARTICLE VI

Membership Regulated.

That no Royal Arch Mason shall be a member of two separate and distinct bodies under this jurisdiction at one and the same time.

ARTICLE VII

Chapters. How Represented.

That every Chapter of Royal Arch Masons under this jurisdiction shall be represented either by their officers in person or by proxy, at the annual communication in September, at which time a return shall be regularly made of the names and numbers of their officers and members.

ARTICLE VIII

Relating to Candidates.

That no candidate residing in or near any town where a Chapter of Royal Arch Masons is holden under this jurisdiction shall be exalted in any other Chapter without a recommendation from nine members of the Chapter nearest the place where the said candidate may reside, of which the High Priest, King, and Scribe shall be three.

ARTICLE IX

Relating to Members.

That no Royal Arch Mason shall be admitted a member in any Royal Arch Chapter under this jurisdiction, unless he shall regularly have received the several degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, Master Mason, Mark Master, Past Master, Most Excellent Master, and Royal Arch Mason.

ARTICLE X

Candidates.

That all applications for the admission of candidates in any Chapter under this jurisdiction shall lay over at least one monthly meeting for the consideration of its members, unless in cases of emergency, when a dispensation from the Deputy Grand High Priest, King or Scribe shall be obtained.

ARTICLE XI

Officers. How to be Chosen.

That the officers of every chapter under this jurisdiction shall be annually chosen, by ballot, at a regular meeting on the 21st day of the 7th month (October), unless it should happen to be a day of public devotion, in which case on the day following, and installed into their respective offices at the next regular meeting following.

ARTICLE XII

Illegal Chapters not to be Countenanced.

That no Chapter or Assembly of Royal Arch Masons that may hereafter be formed and opened within this State shall be deemed legal without the sanction of a warrant from this Deputy Grand Royal Arch Chapter; and Masonic communication, whether public or private, is hereby strictly forbidden between any Chapter under this jurisdiction or any member of them, and any Chapter that may be so illegally opened, or either of their members or any person exalted or advanced in such illegal Chapter, under penalty of expulsion and exclusion from the benefits of this Deputy Grand Royal Arch Chapter.

ARTICLE XIII

Grand Officers.

That the Deputy Grand High Priest, King or Scribe of the Deputy Grand Royal Arch Chapter for the time being shall not, after September, 5799, be an acting officer of any Chapter under this jurisdiction.

PARTICULAR REGULATIONS OR RULES OF ORDER

ARTICLE I

Representatives.

Every representative of a Chapter in this Deputy Grand Royal Arch Chapter, before he can be permitted to take his seat as such,vmust produce credentials of his appointment from the Chapter he represents.

ARTICLE II

Badges.

Every member of this Deputy Grand Royal Arch Chapter must appear at the communication suitably clothed with the badges of a Royal Arch Mason.

ARTICLE III

Motions.

All motions made in this Deputy Grand Royal Arch Chapter shall be handed in writing to the presiding officer for the time being.

ARTICLE IV

Relating to Method of working.

Whereas it is essentially important that the mode of working in the several Chapters under this jurisdiction should be uniformly the same, therefore the better to accomplish this desirable object it shall be the duty of the Deputy Grand High Priest or presiding officer for the time being, to give or cause to be given the Royal Arch and Mark Masons' lectures, at least once at every general communication of this Deputy Grand Royal Arch Chapter, so that the officers of the several Chapters may become acquainted with the same and dispense the knowledge of them in a uniform and regular manner in their several Chapters.

ARTICLE V

Petitioners and Witnesses.

No Companion shall be admitted into this Deputy Grand Chapter but such as are members and voters, except petitioners and witnesses, or those called in by motion, in neither of which cases shall they be admitted to a seat at the table. Provided, however, that this article shall not extend to Stewards for the time being.

ARTICLE VI

Voting.

No vote of this Deputy Grand Royal Arch Chapter shall be reconsidered by a less number of voters than were present at the passing of the same.