Contents.

CONTENTS .

E DITORIAL : THE MASONIC SCHOOLS' ELECTIONS 107 MASONIC "POET ' CORNER" 108 COLONIAL CLIPPINGS 108 PROVINCIAL NOTES 10 S OUR TRESTLE BOARD 109 L ODGES OP INSTRUCTION 10 ! l ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE 110

A NSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS 110 NOTIFICATIONS 110 M ETROPOLITAN NOTES Ill ¦ GLEANINGS Ill O BITUARY 112 REVIEWS 112 METROPOLITAN LODGE AND CHAPTER MEETINGS ... ... 112 ADVERTISEMENTS Front cover , 106 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116

The Masonic Schools' Elections.

The Masonic Schools' Elections .

N view of the approaching Elections for children into the Royal Masonic Institutions for Girls and Boys respectively , and which are appointed to he held , that of the

Boys ' , on Friday , the 2 Gth inst ., and that of the Girls ' , on Saturday , the 27 th inst ., the following items of

information may be found acceptable to our readers . The Boys ' list ( we take the elections in order of date ) comprises so many as 72 candidates , of whom 11 make their final

application on the 2 Gth , and the number of vacancies to be filled are but 17—not quite a fourth of the number of applicants . We presume that those members of the

Craft who have any interest whatever in either of these school elections have also qualified themselves for the receipt of a proxy paper for the purpose of voting in one

or the other , if not in both . We need not , therefore , particularise the cases to which we wish to draw attention otherwise than by numbers ; by reference to which ,

brethren will be informed of the nature and necessities of each individual case . The final application cases are Nos . 2 , 3 , 4 , 9 , 11 , 1 G , 18 , 24 , 38 , 47 and G 2 . No . 2

brings forward 988 votes ; No . 3 , 414 ; No . 4 , 18 ; No . 9 ,

1 G 77 ; No . 11 , 1160 ; No . 16 , 473 ; No . 18 , 55 ; No . 24 , 336 ; No . 38 , 790 ; No . 47 , none on first application , and No . 62 is a first ( and last ) application . As we have said , the merits of these respective last application cases are

set forth in the list , and it is for the governors and subscribers to the Institution to determine the amount of support to be rendered to each . If it were at all probable that the eleven cases would be returned as

successful , we may be sure that a general desire would be expressed for that result ; but all former experience is against such expectation . The necessity for competition , where the demand for benefits exceeds the power of supply , is obvious , and however much we

The Masonic Schools' Elections.

may feel grieved that hopes and expectations may have been raised only to suffer overthrow after much labour , and oft-times expense , there is no help

for it . Our candidates must stand the " hazard of the die . " But it is in the power of most of us to mitigate to a considerable extent the amount of resultant

disappointment , by giving an earnest consideration to the particulars set before us in our proxy papers ; and , being free from any pledge to be guided by the wishes of others ,

or the antecedent obligations of agreement as to disposal of votes in blank , polling for just those cases whose necessities appear to be most pressing , or are on the verge of

annihilation for want of some small amount of further assistance . Of the eleven cases we have especially referred to , six at least should be further supported by those who

have as yet their proxies unpromised and at disposal . The competition at the ensuing election will doubtless be severe , as but one in four can be successful , and this makes the

prospects of the eleven much more gloomy . The remaining Gl Lave yet other chances , but against such of the eleven as are not placed amongst the fortunate 17 , the doors of the Institution will be closed for ever .

For the Girls' School , the election in respect of which is to take place on the 27 th inst ., there is issued a list of 74 approved candidates . In this instance , as in the Boys '

school , there are but 17 vacancies declared ; but there can be but little doubt that the proposal to declare at the Quarterly General Court twenty further vacancies will be

carried , and the number will thereby be increased to 37 , or exactly one-half of the number of candidates . The final applications are Nos . 1 , 13 , 14 , 41 , 49 , 58 and G 7 . No . 1

brings forward 1520 votes ; No . 13 , 2564 ; No . 14 , 788 ; No . 41 , 558 ; No . 49 , 14 ; and Nos . 58 and G 7 are first ( and last ) applications . Considering that exactly half the

number of candidates must prove successful , there appears to be strong hopes for all these seven cases , especially for the first four . No . 49 is a Northumberland case , and will

doubtless have a generous support from that strong province ; No . 58 should have interest from the districts of

Bermuda and Malta , and the province of Hants and the Isle of Wight ; and No . G 7 is the only Herefordshire case on the list .

It is in the interest of these last cases , in both the school elections , that we have thought fit to make the foregoing remarks , and for the sake of the children themselves , and

the credit of the craft , we trust they may have some weight in securing sufficient support to carry them fairly to that goal which their relatives and friends are desirous of

reaching for them . We know that the heart of every Freemason goes out towards these poor children , and that their failure on this occasion would meet with much