The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

THE regular Qnarterly General Court of this Institution will be held on Friday next , the 25 th inst ., in the Large Hall of the Freemasons' Tavern , and , judging from the business then to be transacted , a lengthy and animated meeting may be expected . Beginning at the end of the agenda , we think it will be well for the meeting to decide , before starting on the various discussions which must arise on the general business to be transacted , as to what is to be

done m regard to the Election which , as usual , is timed to commence at one o ' clock , and close at three . The meeting of the day will open at twelve o ' clock , so that there is only three hours available for all the business , and this we think will be found to be hardly sufficient . If this should prove to be the case , how would the Election stand ? The poll must close at three o'clock , and we are of opinion the other

business may extend beyond that hour . It may therefore be desirable to open the poll in a separate room , and appoint some brother or brethren to take charge of the papers . The first business on the agenda is to elect a Medical Officer for the Institution , and here , unfortunately , a hitch may be looked for . In answer to the advertisement announcing the vacancy , thirtyseven duly qualified candidates have made application for the appointment , and although we believe some two or three of these have since expressed their

intention ol not taking any part m the contest , there yet remains a very large number to be considered . The Provisional Management Committee , in the exercise of their judgment , selected from this large number of candidates six whom they considered especially qualified , the special feature to recommend these gentlemen being the fact that they all resided within a mile of the Institution . This is undoubtedly an important qualification , but it has been pointed

out that if this had to be made a condition for the appointment , it should have been so stated in the advertisement . On the other hand some of the distant candidates would , unquestionably , take up their residence in Wood Green , or its neighbourhood , were they to secure the appointment , so that it would be well to know exactly what each candidate

intended to do before coming to a decision on this head in regard to his application . But the Provisional Committee did not leave the matter alone , even after they had selected the six specially qualified candidates , and it is much to be regretted they did not do so , as it would have made the final selection a much more easy task . They further considered

tne testimonials , abilities , and qualifications of the six _ who reside within the one mile radius , and j ultimately decided to recommend a gentleman who , so far as we understand , lives much beyond a mile '

The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

from the Institution , so that we are at a loss to account for the one mile limit being introduced . With such a large number of boys to attend to as at present reside at Wood Green it is imperative the Medical Officer shonld be on the spot . As an

instance we may mention trie case oi a sngnt accident which occurred to one of the lads a few days since , when , as the regular medical attendant was not expected to call for at least five hours , and he was not within reach , a local practitioner was called in and his services were made available . This means additional expense to the Charity , opens the way to the creation of professional jealousy , and may

be expected to lead to such a general disorganisation of this important branch of the Institution as to at once condemn it in the minds of the Subscribers . We consider the limit of a mile is a very good one to enforce , and it will be well if the electors make this part of the question one of the first they decide upon . It will save them the trouble of considering the claims of all the candidates , but it should first be

discovered how many of the outsiders propose to remove within the radius should they be selected for the appointment . Among the six candidates to which the Provisional Committee narrowed their list are , we understand , three who are members of the Craft , and three who are not . Does Masonic membership stand for anything in such a case ? or is the promise to help a Brother

Mason , when it can be clone without detriment to ourselves or our connections , merely a string of meaningless words ? In the case before us there is little to choose between the several candidates who come within the mile radius ; they are all well qualified for the appointment , all have every-day practice in the neighbourhood , ancl , so far as can at present be

judged , have equal chances ot successfully discharging the work attached to the appointment . Should not then the obligation to help a Brother Mason , as far as possible , have some weight in deciding the matter ? There are many who consider it should do so , and we certainly , personally , incline to that opinion , but whether it will have any effect with the general body of the electors on Friday next remains to be seen .

We have shown that the task of deciding as to which of the candidates is best fitted for the vacant office is a difficult one , and as all the applicants are well recommended , the mere reading of their testimonials and qualifications will in itself be a lengthy task , so that we should not be surprised if the question is referred back to a Committee , with

instructions to consider the wnoie merits ot the case , and select a few of the candidates as being the most eligible . We have already seen that the selection of one candidate by a Committee does not meet with

approbation , and justly so . JL-et tne contest be tree and open to all , but let such reasonable restrictions l ) e imposed as will bring the number of candidates within manageable bounds for the . whole body of electors to finally decide the matter .