The Approaching- Election For The Girls' School.

THE APPROACHING- ELECTION FOR THE GIRLS' SCHOOL .

THE half-yearly election for the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls takes place , as usual , on the second Saturday in April—the 8 th—on which occasion twenty , eight candidates will compete among themselves for the twenty-one vacancies declared hy the Committee to be filled at this election . It must be a matter of great relief

to the mends of the children seeking admission to the benefits of the Institution to know that as many as threefourths of the candidates who will go to the poll will be returned as successful ; while the Craft at large must experience great satisfaction in being able to take into their

School so many of those whose present circumstances in life necessitate an appeal to the benevolence of others . The election itself will be a comparatively easy one to those children who have a few friends able and willing to help on their cases ; but there is one item to mar the otherwise

bright prospect . There are a few who must of necessity be turned away , and it may be that those who can least afford the delay , or perhaps the loss of the last hope , will find themselves shut out on this occasion , because their friends were too few , or had not influence enough to make their case secure . This is one of the drawbacks attendant

on election by ballot ; those who have many friends often have numerous other offers of help , while others , perhaps more deserving , but not so well known , lose all chance of

success for the want of , it may be , one helping hand . "Wo can only hope that the most deserving cases will secure the vacancies , and that their future , both in the School and afterwards , may prove them worthy of the benefits they

may secure . It is not our intention , on the present occasion , to refer to each individual case , as we are of opinion that , under the special circumstances attending this election , such a course is unnecessary . Doubtless , most of those who have

votes have either given them , or promised them , to some of the many applicants ; but as there may be a few whose proxies are not yet pledged , we shall take the opportunity of referring to some of the more deserving cases—or rather we should say those which appear , judging from the

particulars given on the balloting paper , to be the most deserving . There is another class of brethren to whom ° ur study of these particulars may be of service—those who , having polled what they deem a sufficient number of votes , find themselves later in the day in possession of a

few which they would gladly give to the most deserving case provided they knew which it was ; but who , from want of such knowledge , may really allow the votes to remain unpolled . No . 11 , Mary Lilian Sykes , one of seven children left

without either parent , makes now a first and last application . Purely , if we may judge from the particulars we nave at our disposal , this is the most deserving case on the list- — a last aDnlicatinn on behalf of one of seven orphaned .

doubl y orphaned , children . We trust that her name may a Ppear among the first in the list of successful . Such a ease as this should , we think , enlist support from other in the father ' s Province , however well off that Province

The Approaching- Election For The Girls' School.

may be reputed to be , and we can hardly imagine such a thing as her being left out in the cold . We may add that her father was W . M . of St . John Lodge , No . 104 , Cheshire , and express a further hope that she , at least , of the family will be taken charge of by the Masons of England .

Florence Kate Hargood , No . 18 , is also one of a family of children who have lost both father and mother , she and one other being now dependent on their friends for maintenance . Her father ' s Province—Devonshire—has no other case on this list , so we may hope that she will

receive sufficient support from that source to secure a place in the School ; but here also a little outside aid could hardly , we imagine , be considered as misapplied . Esther Elizabeth Robey , No . 13 , whose father was W . M . of the Albion Lodge , No . 9 , is one of nine children now left to

the care of their mother . We do not think there are many brethren who subscribe to our Girls' School but can feel a small amount of sympathy for such a case as this , and doubtless many of them would willingly have given their votes in support of her had not others already secured

them . Let us hope there are sufficient promised for this case , or left to be secured on the child's behalf , to secure a place in the Institution . Annie Brockbank , No . 17 , and Emily Vinton Jewell , No . 20 , are each members of families of seven children now left to the care of their widowed

mother ; the father of the former , a clerk in Holy Orders , was W . M . of Zetland Lodge , No . 515 , Malta . We can only hope that the brethren from that quarter—who certainly are not unmindful of our Charities—may receive such assistance from their friends at home

as to secure for this orphan the comforts of the Girls' School . The other child , E . V . Jewell , is daughter of a late member of the Musgrave Lodge , No . 1597 , Middlesex , from which Province we trust a large amount of support will be forthcoming on her behalf .

Among the other cases are three where seven children are dependent , and two where six are unprovided for , while some range down to a single child , the latter being Miss Banister , No . 8 , who now makes a second application , with 547 votes already polled to her credit .

Of the twenty-eight candidates , twenty make now their first application , the others comprising two fifth , one third , and five second attempts . Of the first , Augusta Helen Nicholls has 465 votes to the good from her four previous attempts , while Martha Jane Ohoules Fry has but

19 after as many elections . In her case the limit of age is now reached , and if she is unsuccessful on this occasion she will lose all chance for the future . There are three candidates who stand very well as regards votes brought

forward , viz ., Nos . 6 , 3 , and 7 , the numbers to their credit being 1245 , 1212 , and 1174 respectively . We can only hope they will find supporters once again , and we think their success will then be ensured .

We shall leave the consideration of the Boys' List until next week , but cannot do so without expressing our regret that so few vacancies , in comparison with the very large number of applicants , are open for that School .

St . Andrew ' s Chapter , at Boston , is 113 years old , and now has a membership of 504 . Its Charter is dated 28 th August 1769 .

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EPPS ' S ( co ° = c ) COCOA .