The Approaching School Elections.

THE APPROACHING SCHOOL ELECTIONS .

The voting papers for the School elections , which will be held next month in the large hall of Freemasons' Tavern , were issued last week , and Ave are in a position to form a general idea of the nature of the contests AA'hich will take place and the chances of success—apart from the private influence Avhich

may be brought to bear on their behalf—of the several candidates . That the voting will be as high and the struggle for places among the " Successful" as keen as it Avas at the autumn elections of last year , maybe regarded as a foregone conclusion . In October , 1890 , there Avere 31 candidates for 16 vacancies in

the Girls' School , and the hi ghest successful girl polled no less than 4212 votes , while the loAA'est obtained 3563 . Next month there will be 19 vacancies competed for by 25 candidates . As regards the Boys' School , there Avere in October last 19 vacancies

filled up from a list of 53 candidates , and the highest successful polled 3297 votes , and the lowest 2368 . In April there will be elected 28 boys from an approved list of 45 candidates . With respect to the votes issued b y both Institutions for the approachin ? , as for the last ,

election , we may reasonably assume that the numbers will not materially differ , so that , as in

both cases there will be feAver candidates among whom to distribute them , Ave may expect to find

some very heavy figures both among those who succeed and the highest of those Avho fail . We

notice also Avith considerable satisfaction that since

each School has appointed a Petitions Committee the lists of

candidates have become ! ess formidable in "umbers , so that , as we remarked last

week in reference to the Girls' School , lf the same downward tendency in

THE ALEXANDRA HALL , ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS , OPENED HY THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OI * VVALES ON THE I 2 T 1 I MARCH , 1 S 9 I .

"s respect continues to be exhibited for any length of time , ,. lere wiH be something like an approach to equality between ie number of vacancies to be filled and the number of candidates to AH them .

taking the voting papers separately , Ave note that the election 01 candidates into the ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS

WI 1 take place at the Quarterly General Court , which will be ^ eld -it Freemasons' Tavern on Thursday , the 9 th April , the poll pening i as usual , at 1 p . m ., or as soon as the general business . le Court has been transacted , and closing at 3 p . m . precisely .

"umber of candidates , as Ave have already stated , is 25 , and "umber of vacancies to be filled 19 . London furnishes 10 ofthe ah ^ ^ remaining 15 hail from the Provinces and Districts 2 o road ' The 10 London candidates are Nos . 2 , 5 , 7 , , 14 , 16 , 18 , for fh ' * ^ ' an <^ ° ^ t'iese ^ ° ' 2 > w ^ ° ^ ^ * name on tne l- * t \ hree years , starts Avith 300 votes in hand . No . 5 , who has been years on the roll , has already 3062 votes to her credit , so that if

The Approaching School Elections.

her friends and supporters exercise onl y a reasonable amount of judgment , there should be no question as to her securing a place among the elect . No . 7 , like No . 5 , has been on the list for two years , and will make an even better start with 3406 votes to her credit , so that in this case also the friends will be exceedingly bad

managers if they fail in securing her election . No . 10 made her debut as a candidate in October last , AA'hen she obtained 18 3 votes , but as this is her last chance of success it will be necessary that her friends should bestir themselves , or the votes obtained and those promised will be thrown away . No . 14 obtained 331 ,

votes in October last , while the other London girls are new cases , and as all of them will be eligible to compete at one or more future contests , Ave need not exhibit any special anxiety on their behalf , the London section of Alters being strong enough to ensure the success of all , if their voting strength is judiciously used .

Of the 15 Provincial and other candidates , we notice that Devonshire and the Eastern Division of Lancashire , send each of them tAvo , Nos . 4 and 6 being from the former , and Nos . 22 and 24 from the latter province . No 4 is a last case , has been a candidate for two

and a half years , and starts , unfortunatel y Avith only 93 votes , Avhile No . 6 brings forward 88 votes

from three previous elections , but her friends have this consolation , that if

they fail on this occasion , the girl will be eligible for the next October

election . The East Lancashire candidates are both of them new cases , but No . 22 has only this

chance of success , as she will be 11 years old in September . Taking the remaining 11 cases , Ave find that No . i ,

whose name has been before the Governors and Subscribers for three years , and who hails from Malta , has 1

2339 votes in hand . No . 3 ( West Yorkshire ) , starts Avith 42 votes ; No . 8 , a last case from Dorsetshire , has eight votes ; No . g , a candidate of 18 months' standing , from Cornwall , 953 votes : No . 11 , a last case , who has claims on the two

Provinces of Cumberland and Westmorland and West Yorkshire , has only 20 votes to start with ; No . 13 , a last case , from the Orange Free State , 716 votes ; and No . 15 ( Buckinghamshire ) , 33 votes for this her solitary chance of success . Nos . 17 (

Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire ) , 19 ( London and Oxfordshire ) , and 23 ( Gloucestershire ) , will be candidates for the first time on this occasion . One girl ( No . 3 ) has both parents living , and Nos . 10 and 17 have lost both , the rest of the 25 having lost their fathers . In some few instances the fathers rendered services to one or

more of the Masonic Institutions , and in some they Avere subscribing members for 15 or 20 years and upAA'ards . The election of 28 boys into the

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS Avill take place at the Quarterly General Court , which will be held at Freemasons' Tavern on Friday , the ioth April , the poll