Regents and Companion Knights all:

Governor General’s Message

Within this Governor General’s Message are proposed amendments to the Constitution and to the Regulations for the Government of the York Rite Sovereign College of North America, and to the Regulations for the Government of Constituent Colleges.

Article X of the Constitution provides that proposed amendments to same be submitted in writing to the Secretary General at least 90 days prior to the first day of the Annual Assembly and copies distributed to all members of the York Rite Sovereign College at least 60 days prior to said date.

Section 115 of the Regulations contains the same time requirements for amendments to the Regulations.

The Appendix A does not set forth any time limits for submission of proposed amendments.

The proposed amendment herein to the Constitution Regulations and Appendix A were submitted by the undersigned in writing transmitted by fax telephone on February 22, 2000 for publication in this issue of the Crusader.

The proposed amendments herein pertain to the nomenclature for our Annual Assembly and provide for Executive Sessions during Annual Assembly.

Under all rules of construction of which I am aware, the Constitution of any organization is superior and takes precedence over any by-laws or regulations or appendix, all of which are inferior to a Constitution. Regulations are inferior to a Constitution and Appendices are inferior to Regulations, By-laws and a Constitution.

Our Constitution in Article VII, Section 1 establishes an Annual Assembly. Under all rules of construction that I am aware of, this provision of the Constitution takes precedence and is superior to any other provision of the Constitution regarding Assemblies since it defines both “Annual Assembly” and “Special Assemblies”. Any other reference in the Constitution to assemblies is what is termed an incidental reference and is inferior to the specific reference to assemblies in the Constitution.

The Constitution makes reference to “Annual Assembly” in Article IV, Sections 2,4, and 5; in Article V, Section 3; Article VII, Section 1; Article IX, Section 1 a and b; Article X, Section 1. There are a total of 10 references to Annual Assembly in the Constitution.

In Article V, Section 1, of the Constitution reference is made to a “Regular Assembly” which is obviously a misnomer.

Nowhere in the Constitution is reference made to a “General Assembly” or to an executive session during an Annual Assembly.

The index makes reference to “Assemblies, General” an obvious misnomer in light of the above reference to “Annual Assemblies” in the Constitution.

In the Regulations for the Government of the York Rite Sovereign College of North America there are eight references to “Annual Assembly” and they are mentioned in Section 1 C and D, 3, 4, 6 D and E. There are four references to “General Assembly” and they are mentioned in Sections 2 A and C, 6 H.

In the Regulations for the Government of Constituent Colleges there are six references to “Annual Assembly” in Sections 101 B, 109 C and 115 A and B where the word “General is used four times in Section 115.

In Appendix A there are two references to “Annual General Assembly” in Section 1D and E page 28 as of July 1, 1999.

Our Proceedings and our History Books make reference to our annual meetings as “General Assembly”.

I believe that our Constitution and Regulations should be amended to reflect the terminology in use in our Proceedings, Histories and Appendix.

I therefore propose that all references cited above in the Constitution and in the Regulations to either “Annual Assembly”, “Regular Assembly”, or to “General Assembly” be amended to read “Annual General Assembly” as it reads in Appendix A, Section 1 D and E at page 28.

I further propose that the Order of Business in Section 4 of the Regulations be amended to read as follows:

Section 4

A. The Order of Business at Annual General or Special Assemblies of the York Rite Sovereign College of North America shall be as follows to provide for an Executive Session:

1. Executive Session is limited to Regents, Regents Emeriti and Regents Ex-Officio, and is opened by proclamation only, and includes but is not limited to the following business.

a. Prayer

b. Report of Board of Directors on the nomination of Regents Emeriti.

c. Call for other nominations, if any, of Regents Emeriti

d. Election of Regents Emeriti.

e. Report of Board of Directors on the nomination of Regents

f. Call for other nominations, if any, of Regents

g. Election of Regents

h. Report of Board of Directors on the Nomination of Associate Regents.

i. Election of Associate Regents

j. Approval of nominations for the Sovereign College Service Award

k. In even numbered years the report of the Nominating Committee.

l. Call for other nominations, if any, of Officers as each election for office is conducted.

m. Election of Officers

2. Executive Session closed by proclamation only.

B. Admittance of Associate Regents and Companion Knights

C. Annual General Assembly opened in full ceremony.

[The items currently enumerated 1-14 in the current Section 4A would then be relocated and would be listed herein at this point]

Elsewhere in this issue of the Crusader, the Jurisprudence Committee has published proposed amendments for the Consolidation of Colleges that codify the procedure employed by Past Governor General Donald A. King in the consolidation of two colleges during his administration.

Last year we received a lot of compliments on the procedure employed in the conferral of the Order of the Purple Cross of York. We will again in July 2000 at Charlotte, North Carolina, employ the same procedure with some improvements suggested by a number of the Companion Knights and Distinguished Brothers of the Order of the Purple Cross. Each State Delegation will be led in by the Grand Governor or in his absence a Deputy Grand Governor, or in the absence of both by a Distinguished Brother from that State/Province. The Deputy Grand Governor or Governors will follow the delegation. We bear the name of “College”. Universities in their commencement ceremonies have the graduating students in each college led by the Dean of the College. For example the Dean of the law school leads the law school graduates, the Dean of the medical school leads the medical school graduates, etc. The members of the faculty of the colleges involved assisting in the hooding of Doctoral and Master Candidates. Likewise, our Grand Governors, Deputy Grand Governors and Associate Regents may assist in the presentation of the Purple Cross Rings.

This year our Sovereign College must conduct all of its business and ceremony in two days, Friday, July 21 and Saturday, July 22. In addition, we must conduct joint meetings of the Board of Directors of both the Sovereign College and the two Charitable Corporations and separate meetings of the two Charitable Corporations and of their respective Boards of Directors. In the past we have had three days to conduct this business. We need the assistance of all those Distinguished Brothers present to accomplish three days of business in two days.

If you are a “Knight of York Cross of Honour” please register to attend the K.Y.C.H. Breakfast on Friday morning, July 21 at our Annual General Assembly. The breakfast will be presided over by Edward Block. K.Y.G.C.H. (4), Grand Master General and our Grand Governor in Nevada.

And finally, remember the words of our Past Governor General Harold D. Elliott, 2nd.

It is not a bell until you ring it.

It is not a song until you sing it.

It is not brotherhood until you give it

and it is not Freemasonry until you live it.

So live it up!

Reese L. Harrison, Jr., K.G.C., K.C.P.C.

Governor General