The Twelfth Annual Meeting of the Council was held at the Guildhall, Worcester, on Tuesday, May 20th. Forty-seven representative members were present out of eighty-five, representing twenty-five out of thirty-four Societies; and, of Hon. Members, six out of eleven.
The President, Sir Arthur Heywood, Bart., occupied the chair.
The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. Letters of apology for non-attendance were received from the Rev. T. L. Papillon, the Rev. E. W. Carpenter, the Rev. A. H. F. Boughey, and the Rev. F. J. O. Helmore.
The President moved, the Rev. F. E. Robinson seconded, and it was carried in silence, all the members standing; “That this meeting desires to place on record its sense of the irreparable loss which the Council has sustained by the death of the Hon. Secretary, the Rev. Henry Earle Bulwer, to whose commanding ability and untiring labour the firm position to which the Council has attained is so largely owing; and that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to Mrs. Bulwer with the expression of the Council’s deep sympathy with herself and her family in their great sorrow.”
The President moved, Mr. Snowdon seconded, and it was carried with acclamation, that the Rev. Charles D. P. Davies be elected to the office of Hon. Secretary until the next meeting.
Statements were made respecting the muffled peals rung or attempted as tributes of respect to the late Hon. Secretary. The President moved, the Rev. F. E. Robinson seconded, and it was resolved, that the accounts be possed, viz.: Balance from last year, £74 18s. 9d.; Subscriptions, £10 17s. 6d.: Sale of Glossary, £53 7s. 3d.; Other sales, 9s. 5d.; making total receipts £139 12s. 11d. Expenditure: Printing Glossary, £34; Postages, reporting, etc., £5 19s. 5d.; making a total of £39 19s. 5d., and leaving a balance in hand of £99 13s. 6d. The Glossary account (included in the above), showed sales £53 17s. 3d.; Printing, £34; Carriage of parcels, £2 19s. 11d.; Balance of profit, £16 17s. 4d.; there being still a number of copies unsold.
On the motion of the Rev. C. D. P. Davies, seconded by the Rev. C. E. Matthews, the Rev. E. W. Carpenter was elected an Hon. Member of the Council.
On the motion of Mr. J. S. Pritchett, seconded by Mr. C. H. Hattersley, Mr. T. Lockwood was re-elected an Hon. Member of the Council.
On the motion of the Rev. C. D. P. Davies, seconded by Mr. G. Williams, it was resolved that it be an instruction to the Peal Collection Committee to proceed with the publication of the collection in instalments, the selection to be left in the hands of the Committee, and 1000 copies of each instalment to be printed.
On the motion of Mr. W. T. Cockerill, seconded by Mr. S. Reeves, it was resolved that the Committee on Legitimate Methods be requested to re-draft their report, and publish the same in “The Bell News” before the next meeting.
The President reported the progress of the work of the Committee on the Condition of Rings of Bells.
On the motion of Mr. J. Griffin, seconded by Mr. G. Williams, the Draft Rules for Belfries and Associations were adopted, subject to the addition of a paragraph to the latter recommending affiliation with the Central Council, and it was resolved that 1000 copies of the Belfry Rules and 200 copies of the Association rules be printed.
Upon the motion of the President, seconded by the Rev. G. F. Coleridge, it was resolved that the best thanks of the Council be accorded to the Mayor of Worcester for the use of the Guildhall.
In connection with a letter from Mr. Lindoff it was unanimously agreed that nothing in the rules of the Council precluded the affiliation of either Irish, Scotch or Welsh Associations.
Upon the motion of the Rev. F. E. Robinson, seconded by the Rev. G. F. Coleridge, the following rules in regard to the performance of peals were agreed to nem. con.
That, to the conditions already laid down by the Council as constituting a legitimate peal, the following be added:-
(1) That any shift, or other error in ringing, be immediately corrected.
(2) That no call be made, or having been made be altered or withdrawn, later than during the change at which a call would properly take effect.
(3) That no person other than those ringing in the peal shall take any part in the calling or in rectifying an error.
(4) That, if more than one person shall ring any bell, the fact be stated in publishing and booking the peal.
(5) That every bell must, during the peal, sound at every change.
That in the case of a peal rung to surpass a previous peal compliance with these further conditions is desirable:
(1) That not less than 7 days’ notice shall be given in the columns of “The Bell News” stating the tower, day, and hour, at which the attempt is to be made, and the number of changes proposed to be rung.
(2) That similar notice shall be sent to the Conductor, or if he cannot be traced, to some member of the band who rang the peal which it is proposed to surpass; or if no member of the band can be traced, then to the Secretary of the Guild or Association under whose title the said peal was rung.
(3) That a Sealed Copy of the figures of the proposed peal, which figures shall be strictly, adhered to, be lodged, previous to the attempt, with the Secretary or other responsible officer of the Guild or Association under whose title the band is to ring; and that in the event of the peal being accomplished, such officer shall immediately forward direct to “The Bell News” for publication the said Sealed Copy unaltered; but that if the attempt shall prove unsuccessful, he shall instead return the Sealed Copy unopened to the Conductor.
(4) That if possible a competent representative of each of the bands shall be present during the whole of the performance.
(5) That, if the peal shall be completed, a statement on the following lines signed by each member of the band shall be prepared, which shall be shewn, if required, to the representative of the band whose peal has been surpassed:-
“We, the undersigned, hereby testify that, to the best of our belief, the peal of … rung at … on the … day of 19 … was truly performed in accordance with the conditions for record peals laid down by the Central Council.”
(6) That any objection which may be taken to a peal be raised at the earliest date, and in no case after the lapse of three months, unless in respect of the truth of the composition, as to which the figures the sealed copy shall be deemed conclusive evidence.
(7) That each bell shall be rung throughout the peal by one and the same person.
(8) That the Conductor shall not make use of written or printed matter as an aid to memory during the performance.
(9) That no ringer shall have any refreshment handed to him while taking part in a peal.
Rev. H. J. Elsee opened in an eloquent address a discussion on “Ringers as Church-goers; are we satisfied with the present standard of attendance?” The Rev. F. E. Robinson, Mr. King, Mr. Daniell, and Mr. Snowdon also spoke and infused interest into the subject.
President reported that the Church Congress held at Brighton had placed “Ringing” on their list, and that he and the Rev. C. D. P. Davies read papers on the subject.
A vote of thanks to the President, moved by the Rev. F. E. Robinson, and seconded by Mr. W. Snowdon, concluded the meeting.
The Bell News and Ringers’ Record, July 19, 1902, pages 172 to 173
| Societies | represented | 25 |
| " | unrepresented | 9 |
| Representatives | present | 47 |
| " | absent | 38 |
| Hon. Members | present | 6 |
| " | absent | 5 |
| Total members | present | 53 |
| " | absent | 43 |
The Bell News and Ringers’ Record, July 26, 1902, page 190