Contents.

CONTENTS .

LSADER— PAGF . The Approaching School Elections ... ... ... •••4 5 Imposing Masonic Gathering in Bombay ... ... .... ... 4 < 5 Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution ... ... ... •••4 7 Presentation to Bro . H . Hardman , P . M . < 5 o 5 , P . P . A . G . Sec . Noith Wales ... 4 7 The Old Masonians Visit to Bushey ... ... ... ... 427

MASONIC NOTESAnnual Convocation of Provincial Grand Chapter of Hertfordshire ... 429 Annual Meeting of Provincial Grand Chapter of Sussex ... ... 429 Annual Meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Warwickshire ... 429 Correspondence ... ... ... ... •••••¦ 43 ° Reviews ... ... ... ... ... ••••••43 °

Free and Freemasonry ... ... ... ... . ••••••430 CtaitMasoiKy ... ... ... ... ... ... 43 = Instruction ... ... ... ... ... ... •••433 Obituary ... ... ... ••... ... ... 433 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 434

The Approaching School Elections.

THE APPROACHING SCHOOL ELECTIONS .

Within a week from the present time the autumn School Elections will have been held , and the hopes and fears of the candidates and their friends and supporters will be at rest . There will , of course , be the same full attendance of voters as

is usual on these occasions , and no doubt there will be a considerable amount of excitement during the time the poll is open , but there is no marked disproportion between the number of candidates and the number of vacancies in the case of either

School . The election into the ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS will take place at the Quarterly General Court of Governors and

Subscribers , which will be held at Freemasons' Tavern on Thursday , the 13 th October . The chair will be taken at the hour of noon , and at I p . m ., or when the regular business of the meeting

is over , a poll will be opened for the election of 13 from an approved list of 27 candidates , and will be closed at 3 p . m ., after which time no voting papers can be received . Of the candidates , there are nine from London and three others in which it has n

part interest with one of the Provinces . The remaining 15 hail from the Provinces or Districts Abroad . The London nine include No . 3 , who polled 3349 votes at the last two elections ; Nos . 10 and 11 , who obtained 1204 and 1199 votes respectively

m April ; and Nos . 13 , 17 , 18 , 20 , 23 , and 26 , who are new candidates , and have had no previous experience of the ballot . The three in which London and a Province have a joint interest are A ' o . 6 , who has claims upon Kent and London , and obtained

-00 G votes in April ; and No . 19 , with claims on London and •'iirrcy ; and No . 27 , from North and East Yorkshire and London , whose names have been placed on the list since l- ^ e last ballot . Of the 15 other candidates , Middlesex

1 irnishes Nos . 21 , 22 , and 24 ; Essex two , of whom No . 1 lias secured 2439 votes at the last two elections and No . 25 who l - a new candidate ; and West Lancashire two—Nos . 14 and 16 , v'ho are fresli cases . The other cases are as follows ; No . 2 ,

bom Valparaiso , who stood as candidate in October , 18 97 , and a ; , ain in April last , and has 9 S 9 votes standing to her credit ; No . 4 . from Kent , who scored 494 votes 111 April ; No . 5 , from Northumberland and Durham , who starts for her second ballot

with 2788 votes already to her credit ; No . 7 , from Devonshire , w '' o polled 1716 votes at the Spring election ; No . 8 , from Surrey , with 726 votes , who must win a place on this occasion

01 "avc her name removed from the list on the ground of age ; a , id No . 9 , who brings forward the 1539 votes she obtained in A pril last from her friends and supporters in Lincolnshire , North

The Approaching School Elections.

and East Yorkshire , Surrey , and Staffordshire ; No . 12 , from Sussex , and No . 15 , from West Yorkshire , who are both new cases , complete the list . In other respects the particulars furnished are of the usual character , that is to say , in about half

the cases the candidate ' s father had been a subscribing member of a lodge or lodges for 10 years or upwards , and in several instances had held office in lodge or Provincial Grand Lodge , while in the other half he had subscribed for less than 10 years .

There is perhaps a smaller proportion than usual in which the the father had supported one or more of our Institutions as contributor or Steward , while of the total number , 2 ^ are fatherless ,

one motherless , one has both parents living , and two have lost both . For the election into the

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS , which will take place at the Quarterly Court of Governors and Subscribers , which will be he held at Freemasons' Tavern , on Friday , the 14 th October , at noon , precisely , there are 45

candidates , of whom 20 have been before the voters at one or more previous elections , and 25 have been approved , and had their names placed on the list since April , while the number of vacancies to be competed for is 26 , a proportion which is rather

more favourable to the candidate than in the case of the Girls ' School . As regards distribution , London furnishes 15 , and has a part interest in two others , and the other 28 are from the Provinces and Abroad . Of the purely London candidates , No . 4

lias accumulated 1643 votes at his three previous attempts , while Nos . 7 and 10 have taken part in two ballots , with the result that the former starts with 16 votes in hand , and the latter with 824 votes . Nos . 11 , 13 , 14 , l 6 , 18 , and 20 , were candidates for

the first time in April , and severally obtained 122 , 431 , 555 , 304 , 315 , and 37 6 votes , but of these No . 13 has only this one chance of gaining admission , and his friends must bestir themselves if they desire to carry his case through successfully . Nos . 22 , 23 ,

24 , 35 , 40 , and 44 are all new cases , but if their circumstances remain as they are now they will all of them have further opportunities allowed them of winning admission if they should happen to be left out in the cold on this occasion . The two

boys in whom London has a part interest are No . 15 , who obtained 731 votes from his friends in the Metropolis and Metopolitan Province of Middlesex , and No . 42 , a new case , with claims on London and Surrey .

As regards the cases furnished from the country and abroad , West Lancashire , Hants and the Isle of Wight , Staffordshire , East Lancashire , and West Yorkshire are each of them responsible for two , the West Lancashire pair being No . 3 , who has 25

votes from three previous attempts , and a new case at No . 39 . The two from Hants and the Isle of Wight , have iS and two votes to their respective credits , but the latter will have his name removed from the list in the event of his failing to win a

p lace ; this time . Staffordshire sends Nos . 27 and 28 ; East Lancashire Nos . 32 and 38 ; and West Yorkshire Nos . 37 and 45—all of the six being before the electors for the first time . The rest are as follows : No . 1 ( Devonshire ) , with 589 votes to

his credit from four elections ; No . 2 ( Buckinghamshire ) and No . 5 ( Herefordshire ) , with 134 and five votes respectively to their credit from three elections ; Nos . 8 ( Essex ) and No . o

( Northumberland ) , with 174 S and 225 votes respectively to the good from two elections , of whom the Essex lad has only this one chance remaining of success ; and No . 12 ( Cornwall ) , who was a candidate in April , and brings forward 38 votes for his