The result of Monday's School-Board Election in Finsbury is somewhat
remarkable. A very small vote apparently was taken, for the highest on the poll polled only 3,511 votes, when, as we suppose, if the same proportion of electors had polled as at a Parliamentary election, three times that number might have been polled. This may have been partly because, as there was only one vacancy, the principle of the cumulative vote did not come into play, so that there seemed less hope for the election of any specially favoured candidate. Then, again, the order on the poll was remarkable. It was as follows :—
Rev. Mark Wilks (Congregationalist of " Broad "
views, and Liberal) 3,511 Lord Francis Hervey, M.P. (High-Church and Con- servative) 2,734 Rev. Joseph Surr(Low Church) 2,277 Mr. T. H. Bolton (Vestry and Rate paying interest) 1,506 Mr. Bishop (unknown) 25 From that we should gather that if any clever, well-supported woman, with skill in Educational affairs, had been a candidate, she would have headed the poll easily ; and it is a pity she did not, as the School Board much need a woman of business. As it was, the best candidate seems to have been elected, which is creditable to the discretion of the few ratepayers who are not indifferent on the subject of education.
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