The Thirteenth Annual Meeting of the Council was held at the Church House, Westminster, on Tuesday, June 2nd. Sixty-four representative members were present out of eighty-eight, representing twenty-nine out of thirty-five societies; and five honorary members out of eleven. Sir Arthur Percival Heywood, Bart., being the only person nominated for the office of President, was duly elected on the motion of Mr. R. A. Daniell, seconded by Dr. Carpenter. The Rev. Charles D. P. Davies being the only person nominated for the office of Hon. Secretary was, on the motion of the President, seconded by the Rev. T. L. Papillon, duly elected, after having been previously elected an Hon. Member on the motion of the President, seconded by Mr. Bennett.
The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed.
On the motion of the Rev. F. E. Robinson, seconded by Mr. H. Dains, the following retiring hon. members were re-elected for three years: Rev. J. H. Pilkington and Messrs. J. Carter, J. Pettit, J. S. Pritchett, F. W. J. Rees, J. A. Trollope, and F. E. Ward.
The Hon. Secretary read the statement of accounts, shewing a balance from the previous year of £99 13s. 6d.; Subscriptions, £11; receipts from sale of publications, £4 7s.; total £115 0s. 6d. Expenditure: Printing, £8 13s. 6d.; reporting, travelling, postage and stationery, £3 2s.; total £11 15s. 6d.; balance in bank, £103 5s. On the motion of the Rev. W. W. C. Baker, seconded by Mr. S. Reeves, the accounts were passed.
The Hon. Secretary stated that the sale of publications had realized £4 7s., and that there was a stock in hand of the value of £13 12s. 6d., but that “The Glossary” was sold out.
On the motion of the Rev. H. L. James, seconded by Mr. Bennett, it was resolved to reprint “The Glossary” in its present form, correcting only typographical errors; the number of copies to be decided by the standing committee.
On the motion of the Rev. A. H. F. Boughey, seconded by Dr. Carpenter, the standing committee, consisting of the President, the Hon. Secretary, the Revs. G. F. Coleridge, F. E. Robinson, H. Cockey and Messrs. G. F. Attree, H. Dains, C. H. Hattersley, R. A. Daniell, T. Lockwood, W. Snowdon and F. W. J. Rees, was re-elected.
The Peal Collection Committee consisting of the Hon. Secretary, Dr. Carpenter and Mr. H. Dains, reported and, on the motion of Mr. Cockerill, seconded by the Rev. G. F. Coleridge, were re-elected with thanks.
On the motion of the Rev. H. L. James, seconded by Trollope, the report of the Committee on Legitimate Methods was adopted with thanks, and on the motion of the Rev. H. A. Cockey, seconded by Mr. F. W. J. Rees, it was resolved that the report be printed and incorporated with the pamphlet containing the decisions of the Council.
The Committee on condition of rings reported. On the motion of Mr. G. F. Attree, seconded by the Rev. C. E. Matthews, the committee, consisting of the President, Messrs. R. S. Story, W. T. Cockerill, J. A. Trollope, F. E. Ward and G. Williams were re-elected.
On the motion of the Rev. G. F. Coleridge, seconded by Mr. Snowdon, it was resolved that the next meeting of the Council be held at York.
On the motion of the President, seconded by Mr. J. Griffin, it was resolved, that a pamphlet containing the complete rules and decisions of the Council be published. The preparation to be left in the hands of the President and Hon. Secretary.
On the motion of the Rev. H. A. Cockey, seconded by the Rev. F. J. O. Helmore, it was resolved that a copy of the pronouncements of the Council as embodied in the before-mentioned pamphlet be forwarded to each Association Secretary, drawing their attention to the more important ones.
On the motion of the Rev. T. L. Papillon, seconded by Mr. R. A. Daniell, it was resolved that a committee be appointed to endeavour to obtain fuller notice of ringing matters on the part of the Church Press. The committee selected were the Rev. T. L. Papillon, Mr. R. A. Daniell and the Rev. M. Kelly.
On the motion of the Rev. W. W. C. Baker, seconded by the Hon. Secretary, it was resolved that the question of publishing a popular book on ringing be referred to the previously-appointed Press Committee.
On the motion of the Hon. Secretary, seconded by the President, it was resolved that in the opinion of Council the publication of palpably false compositions and worthless methods reflects discredit on their composers.
On the motion of the Rev. W. W. C. Baker, seconded by Dr. Carpenter, it was resolved that it be an instruction to the standing committee to consider and report upon the possibility of moving Associations to adopt more uniform practice in regard to overlapping areas, election of members, and booking of peals.
The value of single-handed handbell peals was discussed, but decision was postponed.
A vote of thanks to the President moved by the Rev. F. E. Robinson, and seconded by Mr. R. S. Story, concluded the meeting.
The Bell News and Ringers’ Record, July 18, 1903, page 194
| MEMBERS. | PRESENT. | ABSENT. | TOTAL. |
| Representative | 64 | 24 | 88 |
| Honorary | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| Total | 70 | 30 | 100 |
| Fully | represented | 19 |
| Partially | " | 10 |
| Not | " | 6 |
| Total | 35 | |
The Bell News and Ringers’ Record, July 11, 1903, page 185