Voters And Their Privileges.

VOTERS AND THEIR PRIVILEGES .

WE took occasion to refer , at some length , in our issue of the 26 fch March , to the general position and scope of the Battersea Bise Institution , and the measures which are in contemplation for

extending its sphere of usefulness . It is unnecessary to repeat those observations , further than to remark that the decision of the Executive to admit the

whole of the candidates on the list without contest has been cordially endorsed almost everywhere by the Craft ; and this action , in a general sense , is regarded as commendable and graceful in commemoration of the

Queen ' s Jubilee year . Still there are some who , without absolutely finding fault with this arrangement , feel aggrieved that their privilege of voting should be curtailed , and to these it may be opportune to address a few words , especially

as some of our correspondents think it desirable we should give expression to their views with our own on this matter . In the first place , it is certain that the absence of a contest will deprive some of the brethron interested in

the Institution of that amount of rivalry and emulation which are inseparable from all competitions , but there is no ground for apprehension that there will be any relaxation of effort on behalf of this Charity , which is decidedly

the most popular of the three amongst its special circle . It will in some measure upset the calculation of those who may either have forestalled or borrowed votes at previous Elections , and we can foresee a considerable amount of

friction as likely to result from this action on the part of the Executive . There can be no gainsaying that Life Governors will lose their votes , while on the other hand the Annual Subscriber who pays his guinea and is

thereby entitled to two votes duriug the year will avail himself of the option provided for in the Laws , which state that " every subscriber shall for every guinea subscribed have one vote at each of the

two succeeding Elections . These rules apply to both our Educational Institutions , and have always been found to work satisfactorily . In the exceptional position in which we this year find ourselves , however , the case is

altered , and many Annual Subscribers are fearing lest they should lose one of their votes in consequence of there being no contest . It would meet the case , and in our opinion save a considerable amount of dissatisfaction , if ,

notwithstanding the generous decision of the Special Court , two votes were given to all Annual Subscribers at the Election in October , in order to prevent any feeling of soreness that may be excited under the impression that they have not received value for their money .

Another feature to which we have been asked to direct attention is the exchange or loan of votes . Now , the whole system of borrowing votes seems to require overhauling , so to speak , and we have continually expressed the opinion in these columns that it should be deprecated

m every possible way . We have no hesitation whatever in endorsing the views of some of our correspondents , that it is time the whole question was taken iuto consideration , with a view of sparing many brethren who are led—perhaps

unwittingly—into a practice from which unpleasant consequences often follow . That we may not be misunderstod , and in order to illustrate more distinctly what we wish to impress upon our readers , we will cite a case . Supposing a

man lends a hundred Girls votes for use in October , and stipulates that they are to be paid back in April . If

Voters And Their Privileges.

there be no contest in April , as is the case this year , it has been suggested that the candidate on whose behalf the votes were lent having been admitted without a contest the obligation between the parties so far as that particular transaction is concerned should be cancelled . We can scarcely go so far as some writers have ventured to

do in that direction , though we can endorse the opinion that the matter is worthy consideration . Although the lender mightstrictlyenforce the full discharge of such an obligation , yet , having gained his point , he should be magnanimous ,

and not maintain a demeanour too strongly savouring of the Shylock proclivity . There is absolutely no rate of exchange , no standard value , in this matter of voting , for one set of votes cannot be set against another set . For this reason

The man who wants Boys' votes is more in need of them than is the brother holding Girls' votes ; but there is no absolute basis as to relative value . The idea must be taken as we would treat a " token "

coinage , and in the same light that a five-pound note might be regarded as a worthless piece of paper so long as it is not backed by the firmness and stability of the establishment by which it may have been

issued so these votes are useless when any exceptional circumstances arise to upset their nominal value in the way of exchange . The same rules apply to all contests , and the Annual Subscribers have reasonable

ground for expecting their two votes , especially when , under the exceptional circumstances of this year , they may be utilised at the October Election . We trust that some resolution may be formulated at

the next Quarterly Court which will have a tendency to obviate all the difficulties which our correspondents apprehend . With some there has always been a notion that Boys' votes are worth more than Girls' , but

such an idea is based upon an erroneous foundation . There are in every contest so many votes and so many candidates , and , like water , the whole thing must find its level . We may look forward to it as a moral certainty that there will

be a contest in October , whereas in the following year , being the Centenary , some of our sanguine brethren are anticipating that however numerous the candidates they will bo taken on without a contest . We , however , would

advise those who may be interested in candidates to discard such an anticipation . The granting of two votes to Annual Subscribers in October next will , we believe , work satisfactorily , and will show them that the

Executive are acting in good faith towards them , and are not providing for the Jubilee extension at the expense of subscribers forfeiting a vote each by the fact of there being no contest this month . We

certainly trust the question will be considered from all these points of view , and that such a decision may be arrived at as will meet the convenience and gain the

approbation of all interested in the movement , and at the same time prevent any of that confusion which so many of our correspondents have foreshadowed .

The Expenditure Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

THE EXPENDITURE OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

THE Statement of Accounts for the year 1886 , recently issued by the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , will cause astonishment in the minds of many who read it , while not a few of those who professed to know exactly