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CONTENTS . PAGE . The Approaching School Elections ... ... •••... ' 43 A Remarkable Volume ... ... ... - ••••- > 44 Roval Order of Scotland ... ••••••••¦ 144 Report of the Herts Masonic Charity Committee for the Year 1 S 94-5 ... 145 Annual Supperof the Earl of Lathom Lodge of Instruction , No . 1912 145 The Recent Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... ... 145

Craft Masonry ... - - - — •••145 Masonic Notes ... ... ... - — •••149 Correspondence ... ... ... •••¦•••••150 Masonic Notes and Queries ... ... ... •¦•15 a Royal Arch ... ... — — — — — 151 Mark Masonry ... ... ... •¦•••••¦•151 Ancient and Accepted Rite ... ... ... ... ... 151

Rosicrucian Society ... ... ... ••¦ ... ... 152 Royal Ark Mariners ... ... ... •¦••¦¦ ¦¦•152 Lodges and Chapter of Instruction ... ... ... ... 152 Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... ... ... ... 152 Our Portrait Gallery ... ... ... ... ... ... 152 Obituary ... ... ... ... •¦• •••... 152 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 154

The Approaching School Elections.

THE APPROACHING SCHOOL ELECTIONS .

The voting papers for the Spring School Elections have been circulated amongst those entitled to receive them . We are , therefore , in a position to offer the usual remarks as to the number and distribution of the candidates , and any points of interest that may be worth noting in the several cases . The election to the

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS will take place at the Quarterly General Court of Governors and Subscribers , which will be held in Freemasons' Tavern , on Thursday , the 9 th April , at the hour of noon . The list

contains 31 candidates , of whom 15 remain over from the election in October , 18 95 , and 16 whose petitions have been considered and approved during the latter half of that year . The number of children to be elected is 24 , so that the very unusual

proportion of about three-fourths of the total number will gain admission into the School on this occasion , and it is by no means improbable that as so few will be left to carry forward their votes , if any , to October , the election in that month—and it may be for some further time to come—will be conducted without there beintT

any necessity for a ballot . Of the 31 girls on the list , eight hail from London , while two others have claims on London and the Provinces of Herts and Middlesex . The remaining 21 girls derive their claims from Provinces and Districts Abroad , there being

•' i few instances in which the child's father was connected during his Masonic career with two or more Provinces or Districts . The London candidates include No , 6 , who has 6 97 votes standing to her credit from the elections of 18 95 ; Nos . ( I , 12 , and [ 4 , who

were candidates in October last , when they had 642 , 2526 , and ' 795 votes recorded in their behalf respectively ; and Nos . 17 , 2 o , 25 , and 26 , whose claims were approved and their names ordered to be entered on the list at the Quarterly Court in January .

Gf these eight children , only the one who ranks as No . 25 will have | ° dght hard in order to win a place , as in the event of her fa . ilin S do so , her name will be removed from the list on the score ° i age . The remaining candidates in which London has an

interest—but conjointl y with the Province of Herts or Middlesex --are Nos . 27 and 31 , the former of whom derives her interest Jrom London and Middlesex , and the latter from London and ertfordshire . As regards the Provincial section of the list , only

cst lorkshire furnishes more than one candidate , her proteoses , 0 ave both new candidates , being placed at Nos . 16 and 23 . No . 1 w ith claims on Monmouthshire and Somersetshire , has 543 votes 01 , 1 <; 'le last three elections , and as this is her only remaining a » ce , itwill behove her friends to exert all their influence in order

ecure her a place . No . 2 is less favourably circumstanced in •P -t of the votes she brings forward , having only 215 in

The Approaching School Elections.

hand , but her father was initiated in a New South Wales lodge , which till the formation a few years since of the United Grand Lodge of that Colony was on the roi' of the Grand Lodge of England ; while subsequently he joined lodges in

Somersetshire and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight , so that the circle of her influence is considerable , though the votes already to her credit arc few . No . 3 , who brings forward 313 votes from the last three elections , belongs to the Province of

Hampshire and the Isle of Wight ; No . 4 , who commenced her candidature in April , 1 S 95 , and who starts with the very capital array of 1136 votes to the good , has claims upon the District of Malta and the Provinces of Essex and Lincolnshire ;

and No . 5 , who has also been a candidate at two elections and has 959 votes in band , bails from Suffolk . No . 7 , from West Lancashire , obtained no support whatever at the last October election , and as she has no other chance than this of being

successful , her friends must put forth all their energies in order to prevent her being sent empty away . No . 8 , from Sussex , has 33 votes to the good ; No . g , from Somersetshire , no less than 2525 votes ; and No . 10 , from Kent , 1060 votes . Nos . l ^ and

15 , the former being from the Isle of Man and the latter from Madras and Burma , bring forward 351 and 1907 votes respectively , the latter of the two being a last case , whose name , in the unlikely event of her failure , will be removed from the list

for future elections . The remaining candidates were all placed on the list at the Quarterly Court in January , namely : No . 18 , from Devonshire ; No . 19 , from the Western Division of South Africa and the Province of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight ;

Nos . 21 and 22 , from Cheshire and Cornwall respectively ; No . 24 , from Warwickshire ; No . 28 , from East Lancashire ; No . 29 , from Leicestershire and Rutland ; and No . 30 , from the Argentine Republic . Of these , Nos . 19 , 24 , and 29 are last

cases , and , as we have said in others of a similar character , will have their names removed in the event of failure at this election . In respect of the other particulars which are furnished in the printed lists , there is not much to be said . Three of the girls

have lost both parents , and 25 arc fatherless : one has lost her mother , and two have both parents living , but the father of one is entered as insane , and she and her six brothers and sisters are therefore to all intents and purposes fatherless . Only in the case

of about one-fourth of the children is the father returned as having been a supporter of our Institutions , but there are several in which he won distinction in lodge and Prov . Grand Lodge . In 16 cases the father had been a subscribing member to a lodye or

lodges for less than 10 years ; in the remaining cases he had subscribed for 10 years or upwards . The election to the

ROYAL MASONIC INSIITUTION FOR BO , will take place at the Quarterly General Court of Governors and Subscribers , which will be held at Freemasons' Tavern on Friday , the loth April , at the hour of 12 noon . The number of

candidates on the list is 51 , of whom 26 remain from the Election in October , 18 95 , and the other 25 are new cases , whose names were placed on the list at the Quarterly Court in January . Here , also , the conditions are favourable , but considerably less

so than in the case of the Girls' School , as the number to be elected is 28 . London furnishes as many as 19 candidates , and has an interest , conjointly with one or more Provinces , in four others . The other 28 bovs are sent from the Provinces or

Districts Abroad , there being one or two cases in which the youngster has claims upon the support of more than one Province . The lirst in order on the list o ( the London candidates