Contents.

CONTENTS .

LEADERS 46 9 Lotlge of Benevolence 470 Consecration of the Drifelt Mark Lodge , No . 291 , at Drilficld 470 The Roval Visit to Swansea 470

Masonic History and Historians 470 Provincial Grand Lodge of Durham 471 Provincial Grand Lodge of West Lancashire 471 Provincial Grand Chapter of West Lancashire 471

CORRESPONDENCEThe Status of 'he Senior Grand Warden 472 The Girls' School Swimming Bath 472 Freemasonry in Jamaica 472 Masonic Impostors—a Warning 472

Reviews . " . 47 Masonic Notes and Queries 473 Freemasonry at Iirockley 473 Grand Loelge of Quebec 473 Amusements 474

REI-IRTS OF MASONMC MEEWNGSCraft Masonry 474 Instruction 477 Royal Arch 477 Mark Masonrv 477

Rosicrucian Society tr . 477 An English Mason ' s View of Scotch Masonry and Scotland 477 Masonic and General Tidings 47 S Lodge Meetings for Next Week iii-

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THE numbers polled at the last Boys' and Girls' Schools elections are very remarkable in themselves , and deserve careful notice and consideration . The votes for the Girls election were 3 , 390 , brought forward , and 28 , 568 issued , —in all 31 , 958 . Of these , 23 , 615 were polled by the successful candidates and 4673 by the unsuccessful candidates , —in all , 28 , 288 , leaving 3670

votes unaccounted for . Of the Girls' election , nine were first applications , six only had had votes previously recorded for them . Indeed , No . 4 on the poll , No . 18 on the list , GERTRUDE MAY HARE , a first application , had the large number of 2115 votes , ( thc highest figures ); the second on tlie poll , who had ixzz votes recorded , received 554 , making her second on the poll . As we

observed before , the highest number reached was 2115 , the lowest for the successful candidate was 1260 . These are very high figures , and much above the average of previous years . And while it is something wonderful to think how so many votes can be " manipulated " in so short a space , it is still more surprising and remarkable that 3670 votes were not recorded at all . What becomes of them ? Neither is our surprise diminished nor our attention less needed when we turn to the Boys' School list . In that Institution , as we

before remarked , 17 , 6 43 votes were brought forward , and 37 , 181 votes issued , —in all , 54 , 824 votes . Of this large amount the succesful candidates polled 24 , 828 votes , and the unsuccessful 27 , 618 , —in all , 52 , 28 4 votes . Again we note 2540 votes unaccounted for . In both these cases a large margin must be allowed for deaths , removals , and even " duplicate entries , " but still the " fact" must strike all as very curious in itself . The highest successful candidate ' polled 2227 votes—the lowest , 1948 . These ,. we believe , are unexampled high figures .

* * IT is much to be wished , in the interest of the Boys' School , that the preparatory school , as announced , may be favourably received be the Craft . This addition to the School is greatly to be desiderated in its best interests educationally . It will tend , moreover , materially to lessen the ever increasing

list of " unsuccessful candidates , and to meet the equally increasing needs of our constantly expanding Fraternity . The figures above mentioned will convince the most sceptical or hesitating , we think , that this increase of school accommodation and teaching power is alike a very sensible and seasonable resolution , and one which deserves the sympathy , and asks for the support of the many friends of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys .

* * * WE are often met with a fallacy in respect of such questions as these , which deserves , we think , a passing notice . It is said " the more we provide for the more we shall have to provide for , " and that it is " unwise to keep increasing our Schools , as one increase only leads to another , one augmentation

only calls for another , and that the larger the number of children—girls and boys—the larger number of candidates we shall inevitably have . " But such a statement is in itself a pure " petitio principii , " a complete assumption , and thc consequence predicted is by no means necessarily a case of " se-iuitur " to the premise " laid down . " There is no doubt just now a very great

demand for the admirable education afforded by our great Schools . It was not , however , always so ; it may not always be so in the future . . At the present moment , no doubt we must all confess , for some reason or other , the "demand" exceeds thc supply , but the period may come when the " supply " is sufficient for the demand . And even if it be not so , is that any reason why

in our Schools , as in other associations , willingly or unwillingly it matters not , we should not seek to follow the natural law of progression and development ? It is undoubtedlyequally true that it is unwise to extend the Schools too largely without a corresponding " endowment fund . " We agree with this argument to some extent ; but because there is even no endowment , that is no reason , as we sec it , why we are not to endeavour to p lace our Schools on a level

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with the educational requirements and arrangements of the day . We should rather seek alike to raise our Schools up to their truest educational " status , " and , at the same time , increase the " endowment funds " within , however ,

reasonable limits . The recent movement to give a Junior School to the Girls' , and the fresh one to afford the same great advantage to the Boys' School , seem to be dictated by a wise and commendable spirit of realism and practicality .

* * WE always regret to note at our elections the too great proportion of those who come up over and over again , and at last must go disappointed away . Some poor candidates are apparently without friends , and some without a hope or chance of success ; and if we place ourselves in their position for a

moment , we may fairly ask ourselves , Is there no remedy for such a state of things , trying in itself , and often afflictive in its results , to many ? At present we are ourselves unable to suggest any relief for such helpless and

disappointed candidates , —disappointed , too , time after time ; election after election . Perhaps some of our able correspondents may be enabled not only to " point the moral , " but suggest a seasonable alleviation of so stern and touching a reality .

* * A GREAT crisis in Ireland has commenced , and the thoughts and sympathies of all true patriots must be centred in the support of law , order , and good government , and devoted to the aid of those entrusted with upholding the Constitution , and defending and preserving alike the rights of property and

the true liberty of the Irish people . We are happy to r . ote the testimony , universally borne , to the loyal attitude of the Masonic Order in Ireland in such supreme difficulties , and we think it but fair to our esteemed brethren in Ireland both to offer them our humble meed of admiration , and to

commend their unswerving adherence to the unchanging tenets and teachings of Freemasonry . Loyalty and charily are its unfaltering watchwords ! We are are always glad to hear , ( which is not often , alas !) , of Irish Freemasons and Irish Freemasonry .

* * WE commend to the perusal of our readers the subjoined remarks of our esteemed contemporary , the Observer , on a great nuisance and a growing evil . Those of us who peruse our daily journals must be sensible of certain mysterious announcements in what has been termed the " agony column . "

What they really are , what they purpose to accomplish , it is very difficult to say . They seem to be certain " resources " of modern civilization for the weak , the foolish , the conspirator , and the criminal . Some of them specially are said to be "thieves' lingo , " and we commend them , one and all , as

either insane nonsense , or profuse criminality , to the notice of our friends in Scotland Yard . The Observer remarks : " During the past week there has been a more than usually liberal number of advertisements in what is commonly termed the ' agony' column . * E S , who , it is believed , was making enquiries for a lady in Margaret-street , W ., in November , 1879 , ' is told where he can get the required information . < Barnacle ' is warned in the following mysterious terms : * Let A . stand for the place you are sending your letters to . I left A . a month ago , and , after given up the

business that took me there , I naturally resumed my former occupation , which I found at B . What does B . stand for ? ' We confess ourselves unequal to solving the mysteiious enigma , 'What does B . stand for ?' ' NELLIE ' was 'disappointed ' on Wednesday , the 28 th , and begs ' EDWIN '

to ' appoint meeting or sendaddress . ' Mrs . SMITH has not been interchanging communications with Mrs . J ONES ; ' or , in other words , the trade of receiving goods which are the proceeds of burglary has been slack of late . But , to compensate for our temporary loss of ' Mrs . SMITH ' and ' Mrs , J ONES , ' we havc the following advertisement :

' BRX 17 ohwwhrzdv qrw whfhlyhg . —JHUDOQ . ' There are misprints in it—as is usually the case in a cipher advertisement , None the less , it can be easily interpreted :

' Your letter was not received . —GEORGE . ' GEORGE must be a very silly fellow . The cipher he has chosen is one which a schoolboy could unriddle . It is the old story of the disp lacement of the letters of the alphabet . " * *

ALL Freemasons will be greatly pleased with reading the account of the visit of the Prince and Princess of WALES to Swansea , and realizing their loyal and enthusiastic reception by the inhabitants of the Principality . It is , indeed , wonderful to think what an amount of public duties , real hard

work too , the Royal GRAND MASTER goes through day by day so thoroughly , so genially , and so well . His reply to the Freemasons at Swansea , which will be found in another column , must have been not only most gratifying to them , but will be eagerly and gratefully read by the Order at large .