REPORT OF THE ANALYSIS COMMITTEE.

The total number of peals rung during 1929, as shown by the analysis, was 1,665, a decrease of 37 as compared with 1928.

The following table shows the various fluctuations:-

Tower Bells.- As will be seen, the peals of Maximus have increased, there being 6 more of Surprise and 3 in other methods. Cinques show 4 more, 3 of Stedman and 1 of Grandsire. Peals of Surprise Royal have decreased by 4, whilst other methods have increased by 1, making the total decrease 3. The increase of 3 in Caters is made up of Stedman 6, Double Norwich 1, whilst Grandsire have decreased by 4.

In Major the total increase is 8. Peals of Surprise have increased by 25, of which Cambridge alone accounts for 23. Treble Bob and Plain Methods have decreased by 17. Triples have decreased by 22, made up of a decrease in Stedman of 34 and other methods 3, and an increase of 15 in Grandsire. Minor have decreased 18 peals, the chief variation being decreases in peals in 1 and 2 methods 37, and increases in 3, 4, and 5 methods 20. The decrease in Doubles is 20, which is more than accounted for by peals in 1 method.

Handbells.- The decrease of 3 peals in Cinques is represented by Stedman; that of 5 in Royal by Plain Bob 3 and Treble Bob 2. Stedman Caters are 7 more and Grandsire Caters have decreased 1. Major have increased by 15, there being 11 more of Plain Bob and 4 more of Treble Bob. Triples, although being equal, show one more peal of Stedman and one less of Grandsire. Minor have decreased by 3 peals.

Yorkshire Surprise Maximus, Melton Surprise Royal, Loughborough Bob Major, Wellington Little Court Bob Major, and Spliced Treble Bob in the Worcester variation have been rung for the first time.

Again the Midland Counties Association have rung most peals, their total being 128, a decrease of 25 peals on last year’s total. The Lancashire Association and Kent County come next with 104 and 100 respectively. Both totals are less than last year, Lancashire being 15 and Kent 9 down. Twenty-eight societies show a decrease in peals, the most serious being the Warwickshire Association, which has dropped from 34 to 6.

On the other hand 16 associations show an increase. The Suffolk Association, with 99 peals, have increased by 22; the Essex with 90 peals have increased by 40. The Lincoln, Stafford Archdeaconry and Chester have increased by 19, 18 and 17 respectively.

Without doubt the outstanding performance of the year, is the long peal of Cambridge Surprise Maximus, 15,312 changes; at Ashton-under-Lyne; rung under the auspices of the Lancashire Association. This surpasses all previous records on 12 bells, and was a truly wonderful feat.

No other long length was rung on tower bells, but a peal of Minor of 7,200 changes was rung on handbells by the Suffolk Guild.

Other peals worth noting are a peal of Spliced Surprise Major in 6 methods, and one in 10 methods by the Middlesex Association; Spliced Superlative and Cambridge Maximus by the Essex Association; a non-conducted peal of Double Norwich, one of Cambridge Surprise Major and one of Superlative Surprise Major by the Kent County; a peal of Grandsire Triples by 4 fathers and 4 sons for the Surrey Association; a Surprise peal by police officers for the Middlesex Association; a ‘William’ peal of Kent Treble Bob Major and an ‘Edward’ peal of Stedman Triples for the Kent County; and a ‘James’ peal of Double Norwich for the London County Association.

Following are the number of peals rung each month in 1928 and 1929:-

The footnotes show a considerable decrease in the number of ringers who have scored their first peal. This year there are 499, as against 593 in 1928. Ringers of peals in a new method, or method on a different number of bells total 869, a decrease of 366 on last year’s total. Ringers of their first peal inside number 62; away from the tenor 10; in the method inside 83; Maximus 18; Cinques 5; Royal 17; Caters 21; Major 72; Triples 39; Minor 89; Doubles 30; on twelve bells 27; on ten 60; on eight 36; on six 23; on five 10; Surprise 57; in hand 11; in method in hand 31.

There are 54 new conductors, and 73 conductors in a new method.

On the occasion of national thanksgiving for the King’s recovery 66 peals were rung.

Other footnotes show that 51 peals were the first on the bells; 46 since restoration or augmentation; and 158 the first in the method on the bells. Muffled and half-muffled peals number 58; birthday peals 241; weddings (including silver and golden) 59; church festivals and dedications 44; Empire Day 4; Armistice Day 14; anniversaries 63; welcome and farewell peals 46; and royal birthdays 12.

The ladies still figure largely in the peal reports, and 91 have rung peals this year. Three appear among the conductors, and one peal of Bob Major was rung for the Ladies’ Guild.

We conclude our report with the number of peals rung in each of representative years since 1881, the total for the whole period being 55,206.

NOTE.- Mr. George resigned from the committee at the beginning of the year, and Mr. C. Dean took his place.

The Ringing World, May 30th, 1930, pages 350 to 351

The Ringing World, June 6th, 1930, page 368

THE CENTRAL COUNCIL.

TUESDAY’S MEETING AT LAMBETH.

ELECTION OF A NEW PRESIDENT.

The first session of the newly-elected Council was held by the courtesy of his grace the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Guard Room at Lambeth Palace London, on Tuesday, where there was an attendance of nearly one hundred members.

The chair was taken at the outset by the retiring president, Canon G. F. Coleridge, and the Council was welcomed on behalf of the Archbishop (who is now away by the sea recuperating his health in view of the forthcoming Lambeth Conference) by his secretary, the Rev. A. Sargent.

Canon Coleridge then informed the Council that he felt compelled through advancing years to retire from the office of president, and as there had been only one nomination for the office he declared Mr. E. H. Lewis, who had for many years been a representative of Cambridge University Guild, elected.

Mr. Lewis took the presidential chair amid applause, and cheers having been given for Canon Coleridge, on the call of the hon. secretary, Mr. Lewis acknowledged the honour done him by his election to the office.

MR. E. A. YOUNG.
Re-elected Hon. Secretary and Treasurer of the Council.

No nominations having been received for the offices of hon. secretary and treasurer and of librarian, Mr. E. Alexr. Young and the Rev. C. W. O. Jenkyn were re-elected to the respective offices. Mr. Young stated that during his contemplated absence from England Mr. W. A. Cave had kindly undertaken to carryon the work.

The Hon. Secretary and Treasurer presented the accounts, a summary of which has already been published, and these, having been audited, were adopted, as were also the accounts of the librarian, who presented the following report:-

ONLY MODERATE SALE OF PUBLICATIONS.

The hon. librarian’s report for the year ending April 30th, 1930, was as follows: This has been an uneventful year, both for the library and the sale of publications. Few books have been borrowed, and the only addition to the library has been the peal composition books of the late Mr. John Carter, which were presented by the hon. secretary. As to the publications, shortly before Easter the revised issue of ‘Rules for a Local Company’ came from the printers, and notice of its being on sale was at once given in ‘The Ringing World,’ but up to the present only a few copies have been sold, though it has been much in demand while it has been out of print. The new issue of ‘Minor Methods’ has not yet reached the librarian. There has only been a moderate sale of other publications, amounting to £4 16s. 5d. The book ‘On the Preservation of Bells, etc.,’ is in the process of revision preparatory to reprinting, for which it should be ready before long. The cost of advertising and postage was £9 10s. 6d., so that there was an adverse balance on the year of £4 14s. 1d.

The following honorary members were re-elected: Rev. C. D. P. Davies, Alderman J. S. Pritchett, Major J. H. B. Hesse, Messrs. J. A. Trollope, J. Griffin, E. A. Young, J. S. Goldsmith and C. F. Johnston. The Rev. A. T. Beeston, the other retiring hon. member, did not seek re-election.

The Hon. Secretary reported on various matters that had come before the Standing Committee, the members of which were re-elected, with the addition of the ‘conveners’ of committees who were not already members.

The Rev. H. S. T. Richardson, reporting for the Peals Collection Committee, which was reappointed, stated that the work now in hand and almost concluded was the proof of peal of Treble Bob with tenors parted.- Mr. G. R. Newton raised the question of having the whole of the Treble Bob Peals Collection made more readily available for use by printing it, but it was pointed out that the question of printing costs was to come up later on another committee, and the matter would have to be left over for a time.- The committee’s report was adopted.

The Literature and Press Committee’s report was read by the Rev. F. Ll. Edwards and adopted, and the committee re-elected with the addition of Mr. C. H. Howard.

MINOR METHODS COLLECTION TO BE PRINTED.

The most important question in the Methods Committee’s report was that of printing the collection of Minor methods. The Rev. H. Law James explained that the total cost of printing the work as it stood would be about £68, and to make it pay they could not publish it at less than 3s. a copy. The committee suggested that if the cost was too much to enable the Council to publish the whole at once, it should be published in two parts - one consisting of the methods and the other of the compositions.

Mr. Trollope said the committee had gone carefully through the transcript, and if the volume was to be what they wanted to make it they could not cut it down by so much as a comma.

Many suggestions were made as to what should be done to bring the cost of the work within reach of all ringers, including cutting down the contents, dividing the volume into a greater number of sections, giving only half-leads of the methods, and issuing it in several parts, but eventually Canon Coleridge moved a resolution to print the book as it stands, and sell out stock held by the Council in order to cover the cost. An amendment moved by Mr. P. J. Johnson (Yorkshire) to issue the work serially having been defeated, Canon Coleridge’s motion was carried by a large majority.

The committee were re-elected with thanks for their services.

After lunch, the Council dealt with the reports of other committees. That of the Analyses Committee, already published, was adopted, and the committee thanked for their work and re-elected.

The individual reports of the members of the Towers and Belfries Committee was of considerable interest. The committee have revised the pamphlet on the ‘Preservation of Bells, Frames and Fittings,’ and it would shortly be ready for printing. The Rev. C. W. O. Jenkyn, the hon. secretary, and Major J. H. B. Hesse referred to the work done in belfry inspections during the year, and the President, arising out of an inspection he made at Barnet, gave a lucid and instructive address in regard to the ascertained strains and stresses on towers caused by the ringing of bells.

Rev. C. W. O. Jenkyn moved that the report be adopted and the revised edition of the book printed as soon as possible.- Canon Elsee seconded, and the motion having been carried, and the committee elected, Mr. F. E. Dawe suggested that the expense of printing should be met by subscriptions from among the members of the Council, which he offered to head with a donation of two guineas. Several other members at once offered to contribute, and the sum necessary is likely to be forthcoming in this way.

The Records Committee’s report was read and adopted and the Rev. A. T. Beeston having retired from the Council, the other members, the Rev. H. Law James and Mr. T. Hervey Beams, were re-elected, and Mr. George Grover (Guildford) added to the committee.

The Legal Committee, having completed its work last year, was discharged with thanks for its services, but Alderman Pritchett was asked to hold a watching brief for the Council in case any legislation detrimental to ringing should be introduced. The Rev. H. Drake offered to defray the cost of printing the committee’s report, which was a very valuable one, to make it accessible to those who ought to be in possession of it, and his offer was accepted with thanks.

The members of the Council stood for a few moments in silence to mark their regret at the death of Mr. F. A. Milne, a member of the committee, and as a token of sympathy with the relatives.

The Broadcasting Committee, having completed its work, was discharged with thanks for its services.

HON. MEMBERS INVITED TO PAY.

The Council then dealt with the motions on the agenda. The Hon. Secretary proposed that in future the subscription for the third and fourth representatives of an association should be 2s. 6d. only, and that hon. members should pay a subscription of 5s. per annum.

The first part of the motion was defeated, so that the subscription of 5s. will be payable for all representatives.

At the suggestion of Alderman Pritchett, the second part of the motion was amended to read that hon. members be invited to subscribe not less than 5s. per annum, and in this form it was adopted.

A discussion was initiated by the Hon. Secretary on the suggestions made in ‘The Ringing Word’ on October 18th last that the rules of the Council should be altered. He did not think there was a great deal in the suggested alterations, but thought they might well be considered.

Mr. W. A. Cave followed, and proposed: ‘That, in order to bring ringing societies into closer communion and co-operation with the Central Council of Church Bellringers, every affiliated society be requested to include in their rules words to the following effect: “That this society be affiliated to the Central Council of Church Bellringers and loyally carry out the rules and decisions thereof.”’

The Rev. H. Law James moved to leave out the words ‘and decisions,’ but the motion was carried in the form proposed except that, at the suggestion of Alderman Pritchett, the words ‘loyally abide by’ were substituted for the words ‘loyally carry out.’

It was then further resolved: ‘That the Standing Committee consider, and, if thought necessary, revise the rules of the Council and report to the next meeting.’

Notices stood in the name of the Rev. H. Drake as follows: (a) That a collection of lantern slides be formed by the Council to illustrate ringing in its various aspects, and (b) that all notices of motions to be laid before the Council shall be sent in the names either of individual members or of affiliated societies, and shall reach the secretary in time for them to be published a week before Easter, as a preliminary agenda. Within a fortnight after Easter other resolutions or amendments may be sent to him, but in this case only in the names of the societies.

Mr. Drake withdrew these proposals on the understanding that they would be taken into consideration by the Standing Committee.

On the motion of Mr. J. S. Goldsmith, seconded by Mr. G. Grover, it was resolved: ‘That the Methods Committee be requested to review the Council’s statement on “Regular Methods” contained in “Rules and Decisions” and report to the next meeting of the Council, what, if any, amendments they consider are necessary in view of present developments in method ringing.’

Four places were suggested for the next annual meeting, which is due to be held in the North, viz., Ripon, recommended by the Standing Committee, Leeds, Dublin and Liverpool.

It was held that Dublin was ruled out under the scheme, and would be considered when the meeting next fell to be held in the West, and, on a vote being taken, Liverpool was selected.

A vote of thanks to the Archbishop of Canterbury for permitting the meeting to be held at Lambeth, was passed, and the business concluded with a vote of thanks to the president.

In the evening a social gathering, attended by many of the representatives and their friends, was held at Anderton’s Hotel, Fleet Street, which was the Council’s headquarters for the week-end.

A full report of the proceedings will be given in future issues of ‘The Ringing World.’

The Ringing World, June 13th, 1930, pages 381 to 382

THE CENTRAL COUNCIL.

A WELCOME TO LAMBETH PALACE.

MR. E. H. LEWIS SUCCEEDS CANON COLERIDGE AS PRESIDENT.

The first session of the fourteenth Council (38th annual meeting) was held in the Guard Room, at Lambeth Palace, London, on Whitsun Tuesday, when thirty-nine societies were represented by 85 members, and there were also present 11 honorary members, making a total attendance of 96. The attendance was as follows:-

Ancient Society of College Youths: Messrs. W. T. Cockerill, A. A. Hughes, T. Faulkner and C. F. Winney.
Bath and Wells Diocesan Association: Messrs. J. Hunt and H. Brown.
Bedfordshire Association: Canon W. W. C. Baker and Mr. A. E. Sharman.
Cambridge University Guild: Messrs. E. H. Lewis and E. M. Atkins.
Chester Diocesan Guild: Mr. H. S. Brocklebank.
Devon Guild: Rev. E. S. Powell.
Dudley and District Guild: Mr. S. J. Hughes.
Durham and Newcastle Diocesan Association: Mr. W. H. Barber.
Ely Diocesan Association: Rev. B. H. Tyrwhitt Drake.
Essex County Association: Messrs. C. H. Howard, W. J. Nevard, E. J. Butler and G. R. Pye.
Guildford Diocesan Guild: Messrs. A. H. Pulling, G. Grover, A. C. Hazelden.
Irish Association: Mr. R. Murphy.
Kent County Association: Messrs. E. Barnett, sen., T. Groombridge, J. H. Cheesman and F. M. Mitchell.
Ladies’ Guild: Mrs. E. K. Fletcher.
Lancashire Association: Canon H. J. Elsee, Messrs. W. H. Shuker, G. R. Newton and A. Tomlinson.
Lincoln Diocesan Guild: Rev. H. Law James and Mr. R. Richardson.
Llandaff and Monmouth Diocesan Association: Messrs. J. W. Jones and J. Phillips.
London County Association: Messrs. T. H. Taffender, F. E. Dawe and A. D. Barker.
Middlesex County Association: Messrs. C. T. Coles, W. Pickworth, W. H. Hollier and G. W. Fletcher.
Midland Counties Association: Messrs. E. Denison Taylor, W. Willson, J. H. Swinfield and Rev. R. P. Farrow.
North Notts Association: Rev. R. F. Wilkinson.
Norwich Diocesan Association: Mr. A. L. Coleman.
Oxford Diocesan Guild: Canon G. F. Coleridge, Rev. C. W. O. Jenkyn, Messrs. F. Hopgood and J. Evans.
Oxford University Society: Mr. H. Miles.
Oxford Society: Mr. W. G. E. Collett.
Peterborough Diocesan Guild: Messrs. F. Wilford, R. G. Black, T. Law and T. Tebbutt.
Romney Marsh Guild: Mr. A. J. Battin.
St. Clement’s Youths: Mr. G. H. Cross.
St. Martin’s. Guild, Birmingham: Mr. A. Paddon Smith.
Salisbury Diocesan Guild: Rev. F. Ll. Edwards, Messrs. C. H. Jennings and S. Hillier.
Sherwood Youths: Mr. A. Coppock.
Stafford Archdeaconry Society: Messrs. H. Knight and T. J. Elton.
Society of Royal Cumberland Youths: Messrs. J. D. Matthews, F. Smith and J. Parker.
Suffolk Guild: Rev. H. Drake, Messrs. C. J. Sedgley and C. Mee.
Surrey Association: Messrs. C. H. Kippin and C. Dean.
Swansea and Brecon Diocesan Association: Mr. A. J. Pitman.
Warwickshire Guild: Messrs. H. Argyle and F. Perrens.
Winchester and Portsmouth Diocesan Guild: Mr. G. Williams.
Worcestershire and Districts Association: Messrs. R. G. Knowles and J. D. Johnson.
Yorkshire Association: Messrs. P. J. Johnson, J. Cotterell and S. Palmer.
Hon. members: Rev. H. S. T. Richardson, Alderman J. S. Pritchett, Major J. H. B. Hesse, Messrs. J. Griffin, C. F. Johnston, W. A. Cave, J. A. Trollope, H. W. Wilde, J. S. Goldsmith, J. George and E. A. Young (hon. secretary).

Apologies for absence were received from Revs C. D. P. Davies, A. T. Beeston (who signified his desire not to be re-elected as an hon. member), E. W. Carpenter, C. C. Marshall, H. T. Parry and W. T. Wright, Messrs. G. Chester, N. Golden, T. R. Dennis, W. Ayre, T. Metcalfe, J. W. England, C. E. Borrett, W. Storey, T. H. Beams and J. Clarke.

At the outset, the retiring president (Canon G. F. Coleridge) occupied the chair and opened the proceedings with prayer.

THE ARCHBISHOP’S WISH.

The President then said they were greatly indebted to the Archbishop of Canterbury for his great kindness and courtesy in putting that historic room at their disposal for their meeting. At the end of the meeting a formal vote of thanks would be passed to His Grace for his kindness, but if it had been possible he would have been present to welcome them. His Grace, however, was away trying to regain health for the most strenuous month or six weeks that any Archbishop could ever engage in - the meeting of the Lambeth Conference beginning in July. They would all devoutly wish and pray for his recovery, that he might be able to preside over that great gathering. As the Archbishop could not be present, he was represented by one of his chaplains, Mr. Sargeant, who had very kindly offered to welcome the Council that day (applause).

The Rev. A. Sargeant said the Archbishop would have wished, if he possibly could, to welcome the Council in person, but in any case had he been well enough, it would have been rather difficult as he would have been engaged at the great reunion festival of past and present clergy at Portsea Parish Church, where he was once Vicar. Even that great pleasure, however, had been taken away from him, and he was now trying to get his strength back in preparation for the Lambeth Conference. He did not, however, want them to begin their meeting without some word of welcome, and on the Archbishop’s behalf he had to give them a most cordial and hearty welcome to Lambeth, and he hoped they would use both the Palace and the gardens to the fullest extent possible. Mr. Sargeant went on to mention that in the historic room in which they were gathered that morning the 312 Bishops who came for the conference would have their lunch every day. The room had seen a great many interesting gatherings, and there were few, he knew, which the Archbishop would more cordially welcome to Lambeth than their own meeting that day. The Archbishop spent a very happy day down at Canterbury with the Kent Association at Easter, and they would remember his words both in the Cathedral pulpit and at the luncheon. The Archbishop was very glad on that occasion to have the opportunity of paying some tribute to the very great work which the Rev. F. J. O. Helmore had done in the diocese of Canterbury and the whole county of Kent, because there were few men in the annals of their craft who had done more for it, to keep the interest in it alive and to keep it on the right lines and in close and intimate touch with the Church which their craft served. Many of them knew Mr. Helmore, and would appreciate the work he had done (applause). On behalf of the Archbishop he extended to them a hearty welcome and thanked them for the work they did for the Church.

THE NEW PRESIDENT.

The President next stated that, as they knew, he felt it incumbent upon him to ask them to let him resign the post of president, which he had held for the last nine years. He was not doing it lightly and without very great consideration. He knew it was the wish of a great many that he should continue, but, as they knew, two years ago he had to undergo two serious operations, and little more than two months ago he was at death’s door with pneumonia and inflammation of the heart as a result of it. Thank God he had made a most wonderful recovery from both, and he hoped he might be spared for many years to be of use to the Exercise (applause), although not as their president. He had to consider age more than anything else, and he had to consider that if he was renominated this year he would be close on 76 by the end of the session, and, although ringers did not get into their prime until they were eighty (laughter), he felt he had passed his prime, and it was very necessary for the good of the Exercise that a younger member and a very responsible member should be elected in his stead. In addition to the reason of age, if he got a cold he became a trifle deaf and that was absolutely fatal to a chairman of any kind. He was really a little surprised, when it got known that he did not offer himself for re-election, that there were not at least half a dozen nominations sent in for a new president. As a matter of fact only one had been sent in, and he (the speaker) was thankful to know that the person nominated was a man who was held in the greatest possible respect not only in the Exercise but also among outside bodies like the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings. It was perfectly marvellous how these learned men - in their way (laughter) - hung upon the words which fell and had fallen from the lips of the Council’s newly nominated president, who was one of the most able men in his profession (applause). Big firm after big firm had sought his services, and although he was in Scotland with one great concern, he had now come to London, which was the hub of the Universe and the hub of the ringing universe. He did not think the Council could possibly do better than to allow him to give them the name of Mr. E. H. Lewis, of Cambridge University Guild, friend and delightful companion of all who knew him, and one who, he was perfectly certain, would carry on the traditions of the Central Council as they had been carried on for the past forty years (applause). In the name of the Council he would induct Mr. Lewis into the presidential chair (applause).

Mr. Lewis then took the chair amid cheers.

The Hon. Secretary asked the members, as a slight mark of their love, affection and respect for the retiring president, to give him a hearty cheer. That ancient hall had resounded to many a cheer given to ancient captains, but he was sure that none would be more sincere than that which they would give to their own retiring captain (applause).

Three rousing cheers, led by Mr. Young, were then given for Canon Coleridge, who briefly acknowledged this expression of the members’ feeling for him.

The new president, on rising, was received with loud applause, and thanked the members for the honour which they had done him in not sending in any other nominations, thereby electing him without opposition. He felt that he was not quite as well qualified as he might be for the office, and he would ask them to bear with him and remember that fifteen years of his life, as far as ringing was concerned, had been almost a blank, because he had been an exile in a ‘foreign’ country (laughter). Business had necessitated his living in Scotland, and if one lived there a little while one knew it was a foreign country, and the inhabitants of that country were very careful to point it out (laughter). There was very little ringing there except at two or three towers, which it had been difficult for him to get to, so in that respect he felt he was not quite as fully qualified as he might be. That day he saw many faces he did not recognise. That might be a slight advantage, because it was necessary for a chairman to be strictly neutral, and he might have been rather prejudiced one way or the other on certain questions which they had been debating recently. Before he sat down he would like to add his personal tribute to their late president. He had seen in their ringing paper all the things Canon Coleridge had done for the Exercise, and he realised how very difficult it would be to follow him and the previous occupants of the chair. So much did he feel it, that he would like the ‘steeplekeeper’ to fetch a bolt for him to stand on so that he might physically and in other ways reach the tail end of the rope (laughter and applause).

OFFICIALS RE-ELECTED.

The President announced that no nominations for the office of secretary had been received, and therefore it must be the wish of the Council that their excellent secretary and treasurer, Mr. Young, should carry on as before (applause).

Mr. Young, in thanking the members for their renewed confidence, said he was becoming one of the old soldiers. His doctor had told him to go easy, but he was loth to give up these duties in connection with the Council. They were pleasurable ones and were the more pleasurable because he knew they met with the approbation of the members. He had thought of giving up on this occasion, and had hoped that a certain gentleman would have been elected in his stead. He (the secretary) was going away for a good part of the year, from autumn to spring, and his absence was one of the difficulties in the way of his re-election, but their friend, Mr. Cave, realising the difficulty, had offered, and he (Mr. Young) had accepted his services as deputy while he was away. He wished to thank Mr. Cave for his kindly offer.

The President said the Council would be glad to hear of the arrangements made to carry on in Mr. Young’s absence. They would have been sorry if Mr. Young had not been able to carry on the post he had occupied so well. Proceeding, the President said there were no nominations for the office of honorary librarian, so here again it was obviously the wish of the Council that the Rev. C. W. O. Jenkyn should carry on, and they could not possibly do better than have him in that position (applause).

The minutes of the last meeting, having been printed in ‘The Ringing World,’ were taken as read, and were proposed for adoption by Mr. P. J. Johnson, seconded by Mr. W. T. Cockerill.

Mr. C. T. Coles raised the question of the accuracy of one paragraph relating to the amendment proposed by Mr. W. Willson to the Methods Committee’s report, and asked that the words included in Mr. Willson’s amendment relating to certain compositions, ‘on the ground that they are hopelessly false’ should be included in the minutes.- This was agreed to and the minutes, as amended, were adopted.

The Ringing World, June 20th, 1930, pages 397 to 398

FUNDS HELPED BY INCREASED FEES.

The hon. treasurer presented the accounts, which had been audited by Messrs. A. A. Hughes and A. Paddon Smith. The balance at the bank at the beginning of year was £31 19s. 6d. The receipts included a donation from the Rev. Teape of £1 1s.; affiliation fees, arrears 7s. 6d., current year 17 at £1, 5 at 15s., 10 at 10s., 16 at 5s., £30 2s. 6d.; interest on stock £5; total £68 3s. The expenditure had been £13 14s. 1d., leaving a balance at bank of £38 5s. 6d., and cash in hand £16 3s. 5d. Last year, the Treasurer said, he pointed out that they were year by year sliding down in their balance, and they agreed that the affiliated associations should pay more. The receipts this year had therefore jumped up accordingly, and they got about £29 in fees. He explained that the donation from Mr. Teape was received in return for advice and services which he (the treasurer) had been able to give in connection with the recasting of some bells. Two associations, he added, had not paid their annual subscriptions, viz., the Doncaster and District Society and the North Wales Association, but they had new associations in the Romney Marsh and District Guild and the Oxford Society. They now had three societies from that ancient city: the Diocesan Guild, the University Guild and the Oxford Society.

Mr. E. H. Lewis, who succeeds Canon Coleridge as President of the Central Council.

THE NEW PRESIDENT.

The balance sheet was adopted on the motion of Mr. Hughes, seconded by Mr. Paddon Smith. The auditors were also thanked for their work.

The Librarian presented his report (already published in ‘The Ringing World’), and added that while the book, ‘Model Rules for a local company,’ was out of print he had several applications for copies, but since the revised issue had been completed, very few applications for it had been received. It was a most valuable little work, which was published at 6d., and he hoped the members of the Council would do their best to secure its sale, so that the copies were not left upon his shelves.

Replying to Mr. Coles, the Librarian said he was always pleased to send out the Council’s publications ‘on sale or return’ to responsible officials of an association, but last year very little return in cash was received from this source. The report was adopted.- At a later point in the meeting the Librarian stated that the amount received for the sale of publications by associations was 4s. 9d.

HONORARY MEMBERS RE-ELECTED.

The following honorary members retired from office this year, and were re-elected on the motion of Mr. A. L. Coleman, seconded by Mr. J. George: Rev. C. D. P. Davies, Alderman J. S. Pritchett, Major J. H. B. Hesse, Messrs. J. A. Trollope, J. Griffin, E. A. Young, J. S. Goldsmith and C. F. Johnston. The Rev. A. T. Beeston also retired, but did not seek re-election, and the vacancy thus created was left open in case of emergency.

THE CARTER RINGING MACHINE.

The Council came next to deal with the report of its various committees. The Hon. Secretary, for the Standing Committee, said there was very little to report. They had had a meeting that morning and an interim meeting last November. He had done his best to obtain cheap travelling facilities for members of the Council, and many of them had availed themselves of the opportunity, but they had not sold the one hundred tickets which the united railway companies stipulated they should do. It therefore remained to be seen whether they would grant them the same facilities next year. With regard to his trusteeship, with the Rev. Davies, of the Carter ringing machine, he had to report that on the previous Sunday for the first time the machine was officially inspected by members of the Council and ringing friends, about 20 of whom assembled in the Science Museum at South Kensington. The machine was set working, and he explained it. They had scrapped the old battery of gongs and had got a new set of bells, given by Mr. Hughes. These were connected electrically with the machine, which, unfortunately, was in some respects beginning to show signs of wear. Two friends of theirs, Mr. George Fardon and Mr. Sharman, had devoted many hours trying to see what could best be done to adjust the wearing parts. On Sunday it almost rang a plain course of Stedman Cinques, but it did not come round. That, of course, was disappointing, but there was the machine; it was in good hands, and if they could only afford at some day to lay out £15 or £20 and overhaul the machine and have some of the cams and clicks renewed, it would be as good as it was in dear old Mr. Carter’s time. Continuing, Mr. Young said the members of the Standing Committee who were up for re-election were Canon Coleridge, Revs. C. W. O. Jenkyn, Canon Elsee, C. D. P. Davies, H. Law James, Alderman Pritchett, Messrs. Cockerill, Hughes, Griffin, Young, Cave, Coles, and Paddon Smith. The Rev. A. T. Beeston, being no longer a member of the Council, could not be re-elected.

Replying to a question, Mr. Young said the president was an ex-officio member.

On the motion of Canon Baker, seconded by Canon Elsee, the report was adopted, and on the motion of Mr. J. S. Goldsmith, seconded by Mr. W. Willson, the Standing Committee were re-elected, with the addition of the conveners of committees who were not already members of the Standing Committee.

TREBLE BOB PEAL COLLECTION.

For the Peal Collection Committee, the Rev. H. S. T. Richardson reported that the only work in hand was that of proving the peals of Treble Bob Major with tenors parted, the chief interest of which was the development of the long length. He had got the manuscript almost complete, and he hoped it would be typed very soon. A suggestion was made - he forgot from what source - that Mr. Carter’s peals should be edited and published by the Council. It would be a very good thing to do, but he thought the Council as a Council could hardly undertake the publication of any individual’s compositions. Some opinion was expressed that the collection of Stedman Caters and Cinques compositions should be published.

The Hon. Secretary said the suggestion was not received in formal terms, and he simply sent the letters on to Mr. Richardson.

Mr. Sedgley said in the Suffolk Guild they would welcome the republication of Mr. Carter’s ‘Broadsheet.’ It could not now he obtained, and its republication would prevent it being lost.

Rev. E. S. Powell said Mr. Carter’s ‘Broadsheet’ was in the library, so that the peals could not he lost to them.

Mr. G. R. Newton urged that something should be done to publish the collection of peals of Treble Bob which were now in the library only in typed volumes. They should be placed within the reach of all ringers in a convenient form.

The President said it was a question of expense, and Mr. Newton’s suggestion had better be left over until they had dealt with the Methods Committee’s report and saw what was to be done in another direction.

The report was adopted on the motion of the Hon. Secretary, seconded by Mr. Coles; and on the proposition of Mr. Hunt, seconded by Mr. Hughes, the committee was re-elected as follows: Rev. H. S. T. Richardson, Rev. E. S. Powell, Mrs. Fletcher, Messrs. J. A. Trollope, H. W. Wilde and J. W. Parker.

REACHING A NEW PUBLIC.

The Rev. F. Ll. Edwards presented the following report for the Literature and Press Committee:-

A general survey of literary publications during the past twelve months shows the last two months to have been the most interesting portion of that period from the ringer’s point of view. In the ‘Church Times’ of May 30th a whole column was occupied with an article headed ‘Of Bells and their Music.’ Commencing with the statement, ‘He who would write the history of bells would come near to writing also the history of civilisation,’ the writer proceeds to refer to the part played by bells in public rejoicing, of which he says: ‘A great occasion would, indeed, be emptied of half its colour without the jangling clamour of the bells.’ Then in the May number of ‘The Accessory,’ a journal for the Radio and allied industries, appears the first of a series of some twenty articles on ‘The History of Bells,’ by Mr. J. R. Nichols, author of ‘Bells through the Ages.’ The same author has contributed other articles on bells to various trade journals, which are of exceptional value by reason of their reaching quite a new public, whose interest must often be stimulated by the fact that they are so completely taken by surprise. Who, for instance, would ever have expected to pick up a publication entitled, ‘The Tractor,’ and find himself reading a vivacious article on ‘Bells’? Another contribution from Mr. Nichols was published in ‘Musical Opinion,’ while, at the request of the editorial manager, a member of the Literature and Press Committee contributed an article to the ‘Musical Standard’ of April 21st on ‘Some Musical Aspects of Change Ringing.’ And last, but by no means least, the ringers’ own journal, ‘The Ringing World,’ has attained its thousandth issue. The committee confidently anticipate the time when their successors on the Literature Committee will make a note of its jubilee year of publication. A most interesting discovery had been reported in the columns of ‘The Ringing World’ by Mr. J. Perry, namely, that of an old book published in the eighteenth century, which contains an article on change ringing with a detailed description of a spliced method.

Occasional complaints about bells, continued the report, have found a place in the public press. Mr. C. E. C. Kendle wrote to the ‘Daily Mail’ last summer stating his objection to Lewisham bells. In that case the laudable energy of the ringers appeared to have encouraged the wholesome practice of early rising, as the writer said: ‘On Monday, June 3rd, the bells began at 6 a.m. … I got up, went to the church and protested to the chief bellringer.’ Apparently what he protested against was the ringing of the bells in honour of the King’s birthday. As the circumstances of last year gave exceptional occasion for public rejoicing at the preservation of His Majesty’s life, the aggrieved correspondent could not be congratulated on the choice of a felicitous occasion for his protest. His attention might well be directed to the example of our gracious King, who recently signified his pleasure at hearing the bells of Windsor Parish Church rung for the Easter Festival after a temporary silence. Another newspaper correspondent made a complaint about St. Clement Danes’ bells. His letter evoked a spirited reply from the Rector of that church, who aptly emphasised the fact that many members of the legal profession had contributed to the restoration of the bells. The ‘Daily Telegraph’ brought the matter to a satisfactory conclusion with a powerful leading article in defence of bells. One, Francis E. Trotter, had perpetrated in ‘Everybody’s Weekly’ an article on ‘Bells that make our Sundays hideous and our nights intolerable.’ Evidently this gentleman would have found a kindred spirit in a certain Fellow of a college at Cambridge, mentioned by the late Oscar Browning, who seriously proposed that the college clock should cease to strike! At the same time there is no doubt that much needless annoyance is caused by the injudicious use of single bells, and it is in the interest of ringers to exert their influence on the side of strict moderation in such use.

The carillon installed in Hyde Park had received frequent attention on the part of the press. A regular contributor to the columns of the ‘Church Times,’ under the heading of ‘The Humanities,’ referred to it in appreciative terms, but concluded his remarks with the commendably English sentiment, ‘For my own part I prefer the merry clangour of our native ringers.’

FORTUNE FOR A BELL TRUST.

Mr. C. H. Howard said, although it did not, perhaps, come within the scope of this report, he would like to mention that he had received information that Miss Barron, who had previously created a trust for assisting in the restoration of bells, had by her will left a sum of some forty thousand pounds for the benefit of the trust, which would add about £2,000 a year to the fund.

Canon Coleridge said a good many present might like to know that Mr. Ernest Morris’s wonderful new work, a survey of ringing, was to appear at the end of this month, the only thing that remained to be done being to make an accurate index, on which he was now engaged. He (the speaker) believed there were the names of hundreds of ringers mentioned, many interesting photographs, one of them being that of the members of the Council assembled at Chester. He believed there were about 122 pictures altogether. The work, from what he had heard and seen of it, would be of intense interest to every ringer. It would be rather expensive, but he hoped that ringers who could not afford to purchase it would ask the Library Committee of their own town to obtain it and put it in the public library. The book would contain a great deal of sound knowledge which had never been put before ringers before. Library committees of town councils were only too glad to have suggestions.

A member remarked that the committee’s report contained no reference to the complaints made in the press in regard to a peal of Double Norwich Royal rung at Westminster last year, and which emphasised the great need there was of care in regard to ringing peals in churches near hospitals.

The report was adopted on the motion of Mr. P. J. Johnson, seconded by Mr. J. George, and the committee was re-elected as follows with the addition of Mr. C. H. Howard: Rev. F. Ll Edwards, Messrs. A. Paddon Smith, J. S. Goldsmith and W. Willson. Rev. A. T. Beeston and Mr. G. P. Burton, being no longer members of the Council, were not re-elected.

The sub-committee who had revised the rules for a local company (Rev. C. W. O. Jenkyn, Canon Elsee, Mr. Elwell and Mr. Wilde) was dissolved, and the committee thanked for the work they had done.

THE COLLECTION OF MINOR METHODS.

The Rev. H. Law James, reporting for the Methods Committee said the Council would remember they arranged a year ago to print the ‘Collection of Minor Methods,’ but this had not yet been done because the expense of printing the book was so great in its full form that the publication could only be done at such a price that there would be, they were afraid, very little sale for it. As they had got so near to the time when the Council were going to meet again, it was decided to wait and ask the Council whether they would publish the whole thing at a cost of something like £68, or would divide it into two portions and publish it in two parts, the first part consisting of the methods only, and the second part consisting of the compositions. In view of the cost, to make it pay the charge would have to be about 3s. per copy if it were printed in one part.

Mr. A. P. Smith asked if the committee had got an estimate of the cost of printing it in two parts? If not, he suggested that the matter should be deferred until they had done so.

Mr. J. A. Trollope said the question of obtaining an estimate was not the committee’s job; that belonged to the Standing Committee. The Methods Committee’s job was to prepare the book, which they did, according to the standard which they set down for themselves. It was to be a complete book, and it was exhaustive. Mr. Young obtained for the Standing Committee an estimate for printing, and the committee demurred to the cost. The Methods Committee came to the conclusion that if they were going to print a book like that for the six and five-bell ringers, they must not have a book so costly that people could not buy it, and they decided that on the whole it would be better to divide it into two portions. It could not be divided into equal parts. The first part of the book would be a little less than two-thirds of the whole, and would contain a lead of all the six-bell methods which were considered to be regular, and a selection of five-bell methods; also the amended list of alternative names, the alphabetical list of the methods, and one or two other things. Among the methods, there was a complete list of Alliance and Little Minor methods, which were now very little rung, and which would introduce a new style of six-bell ringing. The committee considered that they could not omit so much as a single comma, if the thing was to be understood and useful and exhaustive. The second part consisted of the compositions and the appendix which they were last year authorised to include.

Mr. Willson suggested that before any expense was incurred, the societies should be approached and asked for a guarantee to take a certain number of copies, otherwise they would saddle the Council with an expense equal to two years’ income.

The Ringing World, June 27th, 1930, pages 413 to 414

SERIAL PUBLICATION SUGGESTED.

Mr. P. J. Johnson said that he was not at all sure whether, owing to the cost of printing, the time had not come when the Council should consider the advisability of publishing this and other books in a serial way, instead of sinking, as in this case, two years’ income all at once for a very problematical sale. They had a huge mass in the collection of peals of Treble Bob which the vast majority of ringers would never see.

A Member: And do not want to.

Mr. Johnson said that might be so, but if they were going to publish these things at prohibitive prices they were going to defeat their own object. They had made a collection of these things which should be material for the Exercise to work on, and he thought the time had come when, instead of some of the disputes which they found in the correspondence columns of ‘The Ringing World,’ they might obtain the publication of something of more use to the Exercise. He put this forward as a suggestion, and he thought the time would come in the near future when the Council would have to do this to conserve their funds.

Mr. J. S. Goldsmith suggested that it would be possible substantially to cut down the material in the new book without sacrificing its utility. He referred particularly to the large number of Alliance and Little methods which had been introduced, and thought that these would be sufficiently represented by a few of the best examples. If they had not enough money to publish the whole, they must cut their coat according to their cloth.

Mr. Trollope said the ringing of Alliance methods was a new thing for ringers, and they put them in in order that ringers should have in the book everything they wanted. These methods were not, rung now, but the idea was that they should be rung in the future. He hoped the Council would not agree to leaving out any single method that had now been included.

Mr. Barker asked if they could not save money by publishing the skeleton diagrams instead of the figures. Would that not considerably reduce the cost? (‘No.’)

Mr. E. M. Atkins said that they could save on the cost by publishing only half a lead of each method. Anyone who knew anything about methods could easily write out the other half.

Mr. Trollope: We are not publishing this book only for those who understand methods.

Rev. H. Law James said that when they published the first edition they purposely omitted all the ‘bobs’ and ‘singles,’ but distinctly stated how they were made. When they were preparing this new book they were asked to add the bobs and singles of every method, because the six-bell ringers could not understand it without. It was not the committee’s fault. He would be perfectly willing to cut them all out, but his six-bell friends told him, ‘No, we want them, please.’ If they wanted them, they must pay for them.

Mr. J. Hunt said he was the person who suggested in the Council meeting that the bobs and singles should be included with the methods, but all he asked for was one page showing how the bobs were made in every class of method. It was not necessary for the committee to exceed their instructions; by doing so they were providing this book at a price which would be prohibitive for the six-bell ringer. He suggested they should cut out the compositions and give only examples of the bobs and singles. They could then publish the book at a much less price.

Mr. Trollope said he did not think that cutting out the bobs would very much reduce the price.

Rev. E. S. Powell said that the thing most six-bell ringers wanted was the methods. It was the conductors who wanted the compositions. The committee could not give any guarantee of what the cost of the methods alone would be; probably they would not cost more than 2s., and surely that was not too much in these days.

Mr. Cave: On a technical point, can you get a 720 of an Alliance Minor method?

Mr. Trollope: Of course not. The Alliance methods have to be used in conjunction with the Little methods, and in this way you can make up an extent.

Rev. E. S. Powell said the splicing of Alliance and Little methods was something which would enable the six-bell ringers to do what had been done at Willesden on eight bells.

The President suggested that it should be left in the hands of the Standing Committee to proceed with the printing of a section or the whole of the book with a money limit, if they liked, say, £35 or £40, otherwise they might be left for another twelve months without anything being done, and certainly there was a demand among six-bell ringers for this revised edition.

Mr. Trollope said he would rather that the actual sum of money was not mentioned if it were left to the Standing Committee. The committee ought to be left with a certain amount of latitude.

The Rev. H. Drake suggested that if a limit were imposed, it should be a limit on the price of the book when sold, and he suggested it should be not more than 2s. a copy.

Mr. T. Faulkner asked whether the committee were not authorised last year to publish the book ?

Mr. Trollope: Yes.

Mr. Faulkner: Then why haven’t you done it?

Mr. Trollope: Because the Standing Committee stood in the way.

Rev. H. Law James: The Standing Committee have to produce the money to pay the bills.

Mr. Faulkner said that he took the view that there was a great demand for this book, and whether it cost 2s. or 3s. they were more likely to sell a larger number of the complete book than of a portion of it. They must do something for the six-bell ringers. They sold the whole of the copies of the first edition, and now that they were giving them a new and fuller edition, there would be a very great demand which would justify their adventuring some of the money which they had in hand.

THE COMPLETE WORK IN ONE VOLUME.

Canon Coleridge said there was no doubt about the demand for this book, and he for one would like to see the whole book published at once, and he did not see why they should not do it. They had raised the subscriptions of the members, which brought in £10 or £12 a year more, and they had £70 invested, besides another £50 in hand. He thought it would be a very good thing if they published the whole book at once, and he moved that its publication in full be proceeded with, and that stock be sold out for the purpose of meeting the cost.

Mr. Faulkner seconded. It had been said, he remarked, that there was no business in it. Personally, he thought it was good business; they must speculate something.

Rev. E. S. Powell: Do you mean, published in two parts or one?

Canon Coleridge: One part.

Mr. W. Willson deprecated selling their stock. He did not consider it was good business to dispose of their capital.

Mr. Johnson moved as an amendment that the work should be published serially. He was entirely in sympathy with the resolution from the point of view that he believed that the whole of the material should be placed before the Exercise, and he believed also that the Methods Committee themselves would be bitterly disappointed if that were not done. But he also felt that they, as a Council, had no right to sequestrate the whole of their resources in one particular direction. They ought, however, to do something for the six-bell men, who were an important body of the Exercise.

Rev. E. S. Powell: The Major men have just had their Plain methods published for them.

The President: Do you mean that we should get into touch with the ringing paper and ask them to publish the methods?

Mr. Johnson said that was the spirit of his amendment. What the Council wanted to do was to get the whole of the methods placed before the Exercise, and the only object of publishing them in a book was for that purpose. His amendment was to get it through at a much lower cost.

A member asked if it was Mr. Johnson’s intention to pay ‘The Ringing World’ to do this, and also how long he thought it would be before the whole thing was completed.

Mr. Johnson said that was, a matter for arrangement. He did not suggest that they should ask anybody to do it for nothing, but, done in the way which he suggested, he thought the cost would be less and would be spread over a greater period.

Rev. H. Law James asked if it was the intention of the amendment that the book should be published in the newspaper or published in 6d. parts in the same way that Mr. Robinson’s book on ringing was published?

Mr. Johnson said he was prepared to accept the idea that it should be published in 6d. parts.

Mr. A. H. Pulling said if they charged more than 1s. 6d. they would go beyond what most ringers could afford.

In the course of further discussion, Mr. Cave said they could reduce the cost per copy by having double the number, and he asked if it was thought that the demand would justify having 1,000 instead of 500 copies.

Rev. C. W. O. Jenkyn said, from the amount of copies of old books which he held as librarian, he should not recommend the Council to order any more than 500 copies of any work in the future.

Mr. Johnson’s amendment was then put to the meeting and defeated.

Canon Elsee then spoke in favour of publishing the work in two volumes, one at 2s. and one at 1s. 6d., instead of in one volume at 3s.

Mr. Faulkner said the resolution as it stood was plain and straightforward. This book was long overdue to the six-bell ringers, and he did not think that another 6d. or 1s. on the cost would affect the sale of the book very much. Something had been said about sequestrating the funds of the Council, but what were the funds for if not for the use and benefit of change ringing, and this book would benefit change ringing very substantially.

The Rev. H. Drake supported the idea of printing in two portions, but Canon Coleridge’s motion on being put was carried by a large majority.

On the motion of the Rev. B. H. Tyrwhitt Drake, seconded by Mr. Coles, the committee, consisting of the Revs. H. Law James and E. S. Powell and Messrs. J. A. Trollope and E. H. Lewis, were re-elected with the best thanks of the Council for the work they had done.

The Ringing World, July 4th, 1930, page 429

THE ANALYSIS COMMITTEE.

After the luncheon interval, Mrs. Fletcher presented, the report of the Analysis Committee (which has been printed in ‘The Ringing World’), and, subject to the investigation of a point raised by Mr. Sharman with regard to the peals rung by the Bedfordshire Association, this was adopted, and the committee elected as follows: Mrs. Fletcher, Messrs. G. R. Pye, C. Dean and G. W. Fletcher. Mr. George Williams, who had been for many years on the committee, did not seek to be re-elected, and Mr. Coles asked if any reason could be given for the resignation of Mr. James George who was elected last year but apparently only served for a few months. No answering was forthcoming.

ANOTHER USEFUL PUBLICATION REVISED.

The Rev. C. W. O. Jenkyn made a statement with regard to the work of the Towers and Belfries Committee. During the year, he said the committee had been carrying out the revision of the publication on ‘The Preservation of Bells, Frames, and Fittings.’ This book was originally brought out in 1891, and there was now only one member of that Committee still alive, and he was with them that day. He referred to Mr. F. E. Dawe (hear, hear). The committee had taken great pains with this revision, and it was now in typescript. There were certain small alterations to be made, chiefly to do with the question of cannons on old bells, and he was happy to say that they were now in a better position to deal with this more in accordance with the wishes of those who wanted to retain old cannons than they used to be. That was one of the things in which an advance had been made in the last year or two. Mr. Jenkyn added that there was now no reason in any place for it to be said that the bells were so noisy in the belfry that they could not be rung comfortably, or that some were so faint that they could not be heard, or that outside there was so much noise that the bells were a nuisance to the public. All these things, as a result of their work in the last few years, could be cured, and it would be found in this revised book how these things could be dealt with. They had kept as far as they could to the old book, but a certain amount of this was out of date and had had to be entirely rewritten, while a certain number of new discoveries had had to be included. They had felt it wise to eliminate Section 5, which was a sort of schedule which gave the prices of various peals of bells according to the weights of the tenors. If anyone was going to have a new ring of bells they could always get estimates from the leading bell founders, and it was really a waste of time and space to get out figures which, in a few years’ time, might be quite wrong. They proposed to leave that section out altogether. It might have been of value at some time, but not in the last few years. Continuing, Mr. Jenkyn said with regard to the other work done by members of the committee, he had been quite busy in his own diocese, and the chief work he had been engaged in was the rehanging and augmentation of the peal at Reading. All who had been to that church were agreed that it was as near perfection as possible, both as regards the ringing of the peal and the sound inside and outside the tower. He thought that all members of the committee could report from different parts of the country that they were getting far nearer the state of things which they all desired to see as regarded the hanging of bells inside the tower and the sound of the bells inside and out. Mr. Jenkyn concluded by remarking that after the discussion on the printing of the Minor Methods he ought perhaps to be almost silent on the question of printing this book, but he was not going to be. At the moment, however, he would leave it for the Council to say what they wished and what they proposed to do.

Major J. H. B. Hesse said the principal work in which he had been engaged during the year had been the restoration of the bells at Washington, in Sussex, where he had a good fight for the faculty. He won in the end and got the job done as he wanted it. He had two other jobs in view, in one of which the architect and himself had come to loggerheads, and he did not know what would come of it.

The Hon. Secretary said that all he had been called upon to do during the year was to advise the Rev. Teape in the case to which he had already referred. He thought that the work of this committee would in itself justify, if necessary, the existence of the Council. The members of the committee were always there ready to advise with their expert knowledge.

The Ringing World, July 4th, 1930, pages 429 to 430

AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT.

The President, in a valuable contribution to the Towers and Belfries Committee’s report, said that during the year two interesting cases had come up as far as he was concerned. One was the case of Barnet, where the architect asked for information as to the amount and direction of the forces set up by ringing the bells in the tower. That was the first time he had heard of an architect asking this question, which was the first question any architect should ask when he had anything to do with the rehanging of the bells. He (the President) thought that was a step in the right direction. There was another interesting point. The architect himself suggested a reinforced concrete sill round the tower, built into the wall, to carry the frame and make sure that all the forces set up by ringing the bells were properly transferred to the tower as a whole and not to odd stones in the tower. The architect asked him to design a suitable beam. He got out the design and had it checked by a firm associated with his company, and be believed that beam was now in place. It was a continuous reinforced beam right round the tower, built into the walls with strengthening pieces across the corners. Another matter which came before his notice was from the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. They were considering a frame in which, while some of the bells swung in the usual way, parallel to the walls of the tower, others swung diagonally. The society asked the question on a general principle, was it an advantage to arrange for bells to swing diagonally in a tower or the contrary? That raised an interesting question. It was some seventeen years, he believed, since he gave the Council a general statement on the problem as it then stood and he would like to restate that to some extent now. They knew now what were the forces which they had to guard against, and they knew that those forces should be transferred to the tower in the most rigid possible way spread as far as possible over the whole of the walls. The amount of the forces was not really serious, because it was, generally speaking, less than the wind pressure on that portion of the tower above the bells in any reasonably stiff wind, so that the actual force, if properly transferred, was not at all serious. The danger was in the period of these forces - because they were regularly recurring forces - getting in tune with the natural beat of the tower at which it swung normally as an elastic body. In this case they might get a much greater movement of the tower gradually built up, and that might do very serious harm to the tower. One thing that could be done to guard against this was to be sure that the direction of the forces was so arranged that the tower should best stand up to them - that was to say, that the direction was that which would give the least movement of the tower. In a perfectly symmetrical square tower, the stiffness diagonally from north-west to south-east was exactly the same as the stiffness from north to south or from east to west. There was no getting away from that, provided that the actual masonry of the tower was sound, so that the tower was a whole piece of masonry and not separated into parts by a series of cracks.

EFFECT OF OPENINGS IN TOWER WALLS.

There were, however, no towers completely symmetrical, uniform and without openings in the walls, so they had to consider the question of towers where parts of the walls were cut away. The relative stiffness of any section of a tower could be accurately calculated. He would not go into details as to how it was done, but it was quite simple. Let them, however, take as an example a tower 14ft. square inside, with walls 3ft. thick. If they cut away 10ft. of the east and the west walls, as in the case of a western tower with an open arch and west window, the stiffness of that section of the tower from north to south was reduced to nearly 1/50th part of what it would be if the walls were continuous all round, and the stiffness east to west would be one-half of what it was with the walls continuous all round. With the stiffness in one direction reduced to about 1/50th, and in the other direction to about one-half, the diagonal stiffness was less than one-third of what it was in the original complete tower. If they went a little further and assumed a tower arch opening and west window opening 14 feet wide, so that they had walls left on the north and south sides 20 feet long and 3 feet thick, the stiffness of the section east and west was about two-fifths, and the stiffness north and south was less than one one-hundredth part of the complete section of the tower. He mentioned that as a practical example, because it was one of the commonest types of tower which they met with, and seemed to show that the heavier bells should be hung to swing east and west, if they wanted them to swing against the greatest stiffness. When they came to buttresses and other portions of the church which supported the tower, the problem became more complicated, but still to a large extent could be calculated. If to the tower which he had given as an example they put at each corner two buttresses 3 feet wide and 2 feet in depth, they increased the stiffness by approximately 50 per cent., and if in that case they had a 10 feet opening in the north and south walls, they would bring the east and west stiffness back to the figure of the original complete tower without buttresses. The north and south stiffness would be about twice what it was without buttresses. It was only right to point out that in certain particular cases a section of a tower might be stiffer in a diagonal direction, as in the case of Northaw. There the tower rests on two walls, one on the west and one on the south side, with a single pillar in the north-east corner and it had been confirmed by measurement that the tower was stiffest in the north-west to south-east direction, the actual movement of the tower in different directions varying directly as the force applied, and inversely as the calculated stiffness. These principles had been applied to Barnet tower, which had been somewhat damaged by the way in which the bells were arranged to swing, and partly, it was alleged, by the heavy traffic on the roads on each side of the fork whore the church stands. This would be more serious on account of the comparatively shallow foundations, and also probably on account of the natural water level in the ground being lowered by drainage, which in these days was more elaborate than formerly. The two heaviest bells originally swung on the west side of the tower in a north and south direction, and the ropes were hung on opposite sides of the wheels, so that they got the worst possible arrangement for the tower. It was difficult to do any thing much in the way of rearranging the bells in the frame, but the whole frame was being turned ninety degrees, so that the tenors would swing east and west next to the north wall of the tower, and he would be looking forward with considerable interest to the result in regard to the movement of the tower when the bells have been so rehung.

This speech by the president was followed by the members with the closest interest.

COST OF BOOKLET TO BE MET VOLUNTARILY.

The Rev. C. W. O. Jenkyn proposed the adoption of the report, and moved that the revised edition of the pamphlet on ‘The Preservation of Bells, Frames and Fittings,’ be printed as soon as possible.

Canon Elsee seconded, and said the revised book would be of great use to those who were members of diocesan advisory committees.

The report was adopted, and the Rev. H. Drake, in proposing the re-election of the committee, viz., Revs. C. D. P. Davies and C. W. O. Jenkyn, Major J. H. B. Hesse, Messrs. E. A. Young and E. H. Lewis, asked whether it would not also be possible to include in the book Mr. Lewis’ paper.

The President said he did not know if it could be conveniently published in the report, but it might be published later.

The Rev. E. H. Powell seconded.

Mr. F. E. Dawe said he did not agree entirely with all the funds of the Council being expended on one subject, but he thought that part of the cost of publishing the book on the Preservation of Bells might be met by subscriptions among the members themselves. He had sometimes been asked what was the good of the Central Council? Here was an opportunity for them to show that they were of some good to the Exercise. By having a subscription list for the publication of this interesting matter they would be able to meet part of the cost at any rate, and he was sure the great majority of the Council would be glad to subscribe. He would be pleased to start such a fund with a couple of guineas (hear, hear).

Rev. C. W. O. Jenkyn said he was glad Mr. Dawe had made this suggestion. Mr. Dawe had spoken to him about it that morning, and he told him that the same idea was in his own mind. He would be glad to back up the suggestion with a subscription of two guineas, because he thought it was going to be a book which would be very useful to the Exercise.

A number of other members intimated their willingness to contribute, and the President asked them to communicate with the secretary. From the promises, it appeared as if the book would be printed without cost to the Council.

The Rev. E. S. Powell suggested that the book should include the chapter from Sir Arthur Heywood’s book written by Mr. Lewis. It would be an extremely valuable thing to the Exercise as a whole, as Sir Arthur’s book was now out of print.

The President said if they would leave it in the hands of the committee they would see what they could do in the way of publication.

The motion to print the book at once was carried.

THE YEAR’S NEW RECORDS.

The report of the Records Committee, read by the hon. secretary, submitted a list of records of first peals in new methods and of progressive lengths in the same or other methods up to date. In new or differently spliced methods the list was as follows: April 5th, 1929, 5,280 Spliced Superlative and Cambridge Surprise Maximus by the Essex County Association; May 18th, 5,056 Loughborough Bob Major by the Chester Guild; August 13th, 5,120 Surprise Major in ten methods by the Middlesex County Association; November 30th, 5,280 Yorkshire Surprise Maximus by the Suffolk Guild; February 12th, 1930, 5,000 Double Norwich, Double and Plain Bob and Little Bob, and Double Oxford Bob Major Spliced by the Durham and Newcastle Diocesan Association. In progressive lengths there were: May 18th, 1929, 5,184 Spliced Plain Bob and Canterbury Pleasure Major by the Kent County Association; August 5th, 15,312 Cambridge Surprise Maximus by the Lancashire Association; November 20th, 5,760 Duffield Major by the Midland Counties Association.

To the report there was attached a note by the Rev. H. Law James as follows: ‘Superlative Surprise Maximus was published in the “Bell News” by my brother, and has never yet been rung. The variation which has been rung is only an inferior variation.’

Referring to Mr. James’ note to the report, the President said so long as the figures of the method that was rung were known, the object of the Records Committee’s report was complete.

The Rev. A. T. Beeston having resigned from the committee, the remaining members, the Rev. H. Law James and Mr. T. H. Beams, were re-elected, and Mr. G. Grover was added.

LEGAL COMMITTEE’S REPORT TO BE PRINTED.

Alderman J. S. Pritchett, on behalf of the Legal Committee, said that no reference had been made to them during the year. The work which the committee was appointed to do was completed when the report was presented at Chelmsford last year. The only thing now to do was to discharge the committee with thanks for their services, and he moved accordingly (laughter).- Mr. A. P. Smith seconded.

Rev. H. Drake said be did not think the work of the committee had finished. There were one or two things which might crop up, and they ought to keep the committee in existence, even if there was no work for them to do. There was one thing to do, and that was to publish the report. The committee’s report ought to be printed. They had just heard a good deal about the cost of printing, but this report would not cost very much, and he would be glad to stand the expense of it (applause). It was a most important thing that there should be something in print to put before people who might raise any point covered by the report.

Alderman Pritchett said he was now the only member of the committee. Mr. Elwell was no longer a member of the Council. Mr. Milne had died, and he did not see that it was any good to keep the committee alive, unless there was something for it to do. He himself saw no further work for it.

Rev. F. Ll. Edwards said one of the duties they requested the committee to undertake was to keep an eye on legislation which might be contemplated, and it was for that purpose that they needed trained lawyers to watch over their interests and communicate with the Standing Committee in case of any emergency. The committee had defined the law as it stood so far, but something else might arise.

The President said one thing they had not referred to, and that was the unfortunate death of Mr. Milne. He thought they ought to take that opportunity of noticing that fact, and of expressing their regret and sympathy with the relatives in the usual way.

The members thereupon rose and stood in silence for a few moments.

The President added that he would propose that the committee, as suggested, be discharged with thanks for their services, and that Mr. Pritchett be asked to retain a watching brief for the Council on any new legislation which might be proposed. If he would do that, and if at any time he wanted assistance, the Standing Committee would give him permission to co-opt anybody he wanted to help him.

Alderman Pritchett said he would be happy at all times to advise the Council on all legal matters so far as his ability extended (applause).

The President said they should thank Mr. Drake for his offer to print the report of the committee, which was so very valuable (applause).

On the formal motion of the President, seconded by Mr. W. H. Shuker, the committee were discharged with thanks for their services.

The Ringing World, July 11th, 1930, pages 445 to 446

HONORARY MEMBERS INVITED TO SUBSCRIBE.

The Council then dealt with the motions on the agenda paper, the first being one which stood in the name of the hon. secretary: ‘That the Council do further revise the incidence of the annual subscription.’ Mr. Young said that when the matter was brought up last year it came up towards the end of a meeting in which they had spent several hours over another subject, and consequently it was rather rushed through, without the consideration which the Council usually afforded; therefore, in order to allow the matter to be better ventilated, he put it on the agenda again this year. They would remember that last year he proposed that the subscription, which was then 2s. 6d. per member for each representative of an association, should be raised to 5s., and that honorary members should pay 5s. The former was agreed to, but the latter proposal was rejected. The result had been that their funds had been increased by the double fee to the extent of some £7 or £8, and if they left it as it was they would be that much better off every year. But in view of the difficulty which some of the associations had in finding money, he had heard it suggested that 5s. was too much, and his suggestion now was that, for the first two members of any association, 5s. each should be paid, and for the third or fourth member 2s. 6d. only. With regard to the honorary members, he was quite aware that they came there without remuneration, a fact which indicated that their hearts were in the work, and that they enjoyed coming. He thought, however, that not only did they consider it a privilege, but that they would also be prepared to pay 5s. if that fee were imposed upon them. He, therefore, moved that in future, where there were three or four representatives of an association, the fee for the third and fourth should be 2s. 6d., and that honorary members should pay 5s. a year. As far as the finances of the Council were concerned, they would be about where they were now - what they lost on the swings they would make up on the roundabouts. He was asking the honorary members to do something which would in a way make up what they lost in the case of societies who returned three or four members. There were 17 societies who returned four members, and on them they would lose about £4. There were five who returned three members. They had fifteen honorary members, and 5s. from each would nearly recoup the Council.- The Rev. F. Ll. Edwards seconded.

Alderman Pritchett said, as an honorary member, he would like to go one better than Mr. Young, and therefore he made the following proposition: ‘That honorary members be invited to subscribe not less than 5s. in each year.’ He said ‘invited,’ because that would necessitate no alteration in their rules. A copy of the resolution could be sent to every honorary member at some time during the year, and he was quite sure that everyone would respond. In many cases they would be prepared to give more than 5s. towards the funds of the Council. He for one would be willing to subscribe a guinea, because he felt it was a great honour to be an honorary member. He had been one now for a great many years, and he had never subscribed anything, which was rather on his conscience, and he would be glad to make up for lost time (laughter). He had put the Council to some expense. The other day he had a letter from the secretary, which cost 1½d. to send and which enabled him to save 10s. on his railway fare. A subscription to the Council would be a good way of repaying the kindness. His proposition did not mean any alteration of the rules, and gave an honorary member the opportunity of subscribing a sum of not less than 5s., or nothing at all, according as he thought fit.

Mr. W. Willson seconded the amendment, and the Rev. R. P. Farrow remarked that he would support it on the ground that it was a pleasure to hear of a lawyer putting his hand into his own pocket (laughter).

The Hon. Secretary said he was prepared to accept the amendment proposed by Alderman Pritchett.

Rev. E. S. Powell moved that there should be no alteration in the present scale of fees for the association representatives. Had the proposal been put forward in its present form at Chelmsford it would have had something to commend it, but now the change had been made it would lead to confusion and uncertainty if they made a fresh scale.- Mr. Sedgley seconded.

Canon Elsee said that one thing had not been mentioned, and that was that the honorary members came to the Council always at their own expense, whereas by custom the expenses of the ordinary members were paid by their associations. He was rather anxious that no one should be shut out from the honour of being an honorary member of the Council by considerations of expense, and if he had to pay a subscription in addition to his own expenses, it was possible that it might shut out one or two.

The Rev. H. S. T. Richardson and Major Hesse spoke in favour of the subscription of honorary members being compulsory, but Mr. Pulling opposed the principle of asking honorary members to pay anything.

Canon Coleridge said the associations relied upon honorary members’ subscriptions to assist their funds and to save some of them from becoming bankrupt. He thought the members of the Council were in the same position. It was a great privilege to be an honorary member, and he thought everybody ought to pay. Whether they used the word ‘shall’ or ‘may’ was another thing.

Mr. James George favoured the use of the word ‘shall.’ There were few, he said, who would not be willing to pay a small sum for the pleasure of attending their enjoyable meetings.

Mr. Cave suggested that the question of honorary members’ subscriptions should be dropped, because he thought, after what had been said that day, subscriptions from the honorary members would be forthcoming next year without any request.

The President divided the motion for the convenience of voting, and the portion relating to the reduction of the ordinary representatives’ fees in the case of the third and fourth members was defeated, while that with regard to honorary members, as put forward by Alderman Pritchett, was carried.

THE COUNCIL’S RULES.

The Hon. Secretary, in accordance with a motion which stood on the agenda, initiated a discussion on the subject of alteration in the rules of the Central Council, as suggested in ‘The Ringing World’ of October 18th, 1929. He said that last year there was a considerable ventilation of ideas as to what might be done to improve the Council and make it more useful. As a result of this, he expected to be inundated with all sorts of proposals and motions, but when the time came to issue the agenda for this year they could imagine his surprise when he found that there seemed to be a conspiracy of silence, for some reason or other. He felt it was a pity that something should not be done to ventilate the grievances, and he had some correspondence with his predecessor, the Rev. C. D. P. Davies, who knew the Council so well and how to get over the difficulties.

He (Mr. Young) had been very much indebted to him whenever there had been any point he desired to have cleared up, and Mr. Davies had said that he thought it would be a good thing to put down a motion which would enable them to see where they were with regard to these grievances. On October 18th last year an article appeared in ‘The Ringing World’ from an anonymous contributor putting forward certain suggested alterations to the rules. At first glance it looked formidable, but he found on examination that there was not very much in it. The main point seemed to turn largely on the question whether the Council should have a purely advisory position, as it had now, or whether it should put the Exercise more into bonds. As some of them might remember it was deemed by Sir Arthur Heywood and those who founded the Council that they would be wise in maintaining themselves as an advisory body, and he had noticed that when Mr. Davies was secretary he tabled his motions in words which made it clear that the Council should advise this or that. Did the Council now wish to say that the associations must do so and so? If the associations and guilds did not fall in with the Council’s rules or suggestions, what were they going to do about it? It was quite worth their while to think these things over and ventilate them. Another point raised was under Rule 2, by which the Council was to consist of representative members under a certain schedule of numbers. Under the suggested new rule, it was proposed that any recognised society could apply for affiliation, but that it should subscribe to an undertaking to recognise and observe the rulings of the Council. If they did not do so, he supposed there was no object in their subscribing, but if they refused to subscribe he supposed they would be outside the pale. That seemed to be the primary thing. Another point was that instead of the Council being constituted for three years, as they were at present, they should be on a yearly basis with a meeting every third year in London. He did not know that that would make very much difference, but he thought that if a man was only elected for one year they might not get to know his work, for it was only after a period of years on the Council that they were really able to recognise a man’s value. He should prefer to stick to the triennial arrangement. But there did seem something, if they could strike a line of agreement, in endeavouring to draw the bonds between the Council and the associations a little closer. He did not think it would be of harm to the Council if they tried to get their rules observed, and he believed Mr. Cave had a motion to bring forward on this subject. If he did so it would go a long way towards ventilating the position and perhaps enabling them to reach a decision next year.

UNFAIR CRITICISM.

Mr. Cave said some of the criticisms which had been levelled at the Council were not fair, and some were actually untrue. For instance, one speaker at a meeting, reported on page 150 of No. 937 of ‘The Ringing World,’ said: ‘The rules of the Council stated that no member should vote until the association he represented had paid the fee of 2s. 6d., and upon this rule being carried out, a further rule stated that the representative would be a member of the Council and not necessarily a representative of his association.’ The latter part of this was not true, but it had not been contradicted, and they might imagine the effect of this upon a reader who, of course, took it as being true. If they would refer to the rules they would see that this latter part was a note to Rule 2 defining the word ‘Member,’ and meant that associations might, if they thought fit, appoint any person to represent them, whether a member or not. This note came about in this way: While he was acting as assistant secretary of the Gloucester and Bristol Diocesan Association, he discovered that one of the representatives had not paid his subscription for two or three years, and by the rules had ceased to be a member of the association. This was brought to the representative’s notice. He refused to pay, but he attended the Central Council meeting at Exeter, where the question was brought up and decided, as they saw in the note to Rule 2. The association accepted the ruling and did not elect anyone to take this representative’s place until his period of service was up, an example that the Gloucester and Bristol Association might well have followed last year. Then they had heard a lot about the member who was instructed to do one thing, although his own feelings prompted him to do the opposite. Most of the people he (Mr. Cave) had spoken to about it had blamed the member for saying what he did, and upheld the chairman in his ruling; and he was with them. This member was not the first, and probably he would not be the last, to do for an association what he would not do for himself. He (the speaker) did the same thing three years ago when proposing Bristol for the 1928 meeting of the Council entirely against his own feelings in the matter. Another instance was that of a resolution passed at the annual meeting of his association held at Painswick in 1925, and which was to have been put to the meeting at Ipswich in 1926. There was no authority from the Painswick meeting to put it on the Council’s agenda, but the association having passed it he was quite willing to support it in their name. The fact that the chairman of the Council would not allow it to be put was the fault of the secretary of the association; the necessary alteration in the wording was pointed out to him before he sent it to the Council.

AN INVITATION TO ASSOCIATIONS.

Mr. Cave, continuing, drew attention to what he described as another instance of unfair criticism, in which it was stated: ‘That the five and six-bell ringers had had their enthusiasm damped by the continued bartering of what they could ring and what they must not, and the effect of that upon the Gloucester and Bristol Association was a drop of from 14 to 8 peals upon 5 and 6 bells during the last year.’ Mr. Cave said it was nothing of the kind. In 1927 there were 17 peals (not 14) on five and six bells, thirteen of which were Doubles, seven conducted by one and the same ringer. In 1928, of the eight peals, six were Doubles, only one of which was conducted by him - a drop of six, due to one man alone. Of course, the ‘bartering’ referred to was the Council’s discussions on Mr. Bankes James’ Cambridge Minor and the various 240’s and 360’s of Doubles. The secretary of the Gloucester and Bristol Association was in favour of admitting them, and he (Mr. Cave) was against it. If the association had rung any of these, one could have understood it, but the fact was they had rung none of them, either before or since. Mr. Cave added that the associations had always sent their representatives to that Council to thrash out ringing matters so that they might benefit from the deliberations, and also to abide by their decisions. Although many associations had no reference to the Council in their rules, these decisions had been accepted as law. For example, he would refer them to page 20 of ‘Rules and Decisions,’ where it was stated: ‘That Bob Triples and Grandsire Major are not worthy of being practised.’ To-day peals in these methods were practically unheard of. Mr. Cave then moved: ‘That in order to bring ringing societies into closer communion and co-operation with the Central Council of Church Bellringers, every affiliated society be requested to include in its rules words to the following effect: “That this society be affiliated to the Central Council of Church Bellringers and loyally carry out the rules and decisions thereof.”’ He thought that if this resolution was passed it would strengthen the bonds between the Council and the associations.

Mr. Young seconded the motion, remarking that the Council could not amend its rules without proper notice printed in the agenda, but they could pass a resolution which was advisory. This resolution recommended their affiliated societies to take a certain action, and he thought it would help to meet some of the criticisms.

Rev. H. Law James thought that the two words at the end of the motion ‘and decisions’ should be taken out. He had not the slightest objection with regard to the rules, but when they came to the ‘decisions’ it was another question (laughter). The Council were not like the M.C.C. in regard to the laws of cricket. The laws of cricket could be altered, but the laws governing change ringing could not - for instance, they could not get more than six changes on three bells. They were not dealing with a thing like cricket; they were dealing with a science. From time to time they found out that there were points and old decisions which had got to go. On the scientific side of change ringing they had to do with facts and not with theories. A scientific theory was like a clothes line - if they put too much weight on it, it would break. They could not ask associations to abide by decisions which in a few years’ time might be out of date.

Alderman Pritchett said it was no use a society being affiliated to the Council unless the society was prepared to accept its rules. He suggested a slight alteration to the form of the motion by substituting the words ‘abide by’ instead of ‘carry out,’ and this was accepted by the mover.

The Ringing World, July 18th, 1930, pages 458 to 459

THE COUNCIL’S RULES AND DECISIONS.

Mr. J. A. Trollope seconded Mr. Law James’ amendment, that the words ‘and decisions’ should be omitted from Mr. Cave’s motion, urging that there was no single rule in ringing which a band had not a perfect right to break if there was any sufficient reason for it. The rules they had got were not restrictive; they did not say ‘You must not do this,’ or ‘You must do that.’ They were the experience built up through three centuries of change ringing, and the difficulty was that when they came to put these things down in words they did not always say what they meant. They could not look at the rules of ringing as hard and fast things, but as a sort of standard. Mr. Trollope went on to illustrate his point by referring to various developments in method ringing, quoting as one example a rule which said that a method should have as many plain leads in the plain course as there were working bells, a rule which was now breaking down in view of spliced ringing, which was producing a different plain course altogether. The Council’s rules and decisions were nothing more than what was, in the opinion of the best people of the Exercise, the highest thing at the time to aim at.

Mr. Coles supported the amendment, and pointed out that despite resolutions of the Council many peals had been rung which did not accord with the Council’s decisions.

Mr. W. Willson asked for what purpose did the members of the Council come there year after year? Was it to make decisions and be laughed at? If the rules were not to be accepted they had better scrap the book they had already got. If they were to have rules, the associations should abide by them.

CONSIDERED JUDGMENT.

Mr. P. J. Johnson said their rules and decisions were the considered judgment of those who came there as delegates of the associations. It had been very definitely ruled on many occasions that they had no direct authority over the associations, and that they simply came there as an advisory body, but if they, as a Council, had no more courage than to doubt whether they should recommend the associations to carry out their decisions that they came there to make, what were they there for? (hear, hear). There were some opinions which they could never reconcile, but the decisions which they came to were the considered judgment of that body, and that being so they had a right to expect that they would be accepted by the associations which sent them (hear, hear).

Mr. J. W. Jones said he supported the resolution on the ground that associations expected their members to abide by their rules and decisions, and they ought to expect the associations to abide by the rules and decisions of the Council on the same ground.

Canon Elsee hoped that neither the resolution nor the amendment would be carried. He thought the Council would be well advised to remain as it always had been, an advisory and not a legislative body. He believed that the decisions of the Council would carry more weight with the associations if they remained as they were. He thought it was important that they should respect the independence of each association, and that they should not try to lay down laws that the associations were bound to carry out without any consideration by those who sent their representatives. He pointed out as a parallel the Lambeth Conference of Bishops from all parts of the world, which was shortly to be held in that same building. Its decisions would carry immense weight with the whole Anglican communion, but he believed that all through there would be no law laid down. Opinions would be expressed and certain resolutions carried, but the independence of each church sending its Bishops to that conference would be respected. He hoped the Central Council would follow the same course, the course which it had adopted from the beginning, namely, that, while it considered things carefully and gave considered opinions which ought to carry great weight with the constituent associations, it would refrain from laying down rules and saying that the associations must abide by them.

The Rev. E. S. Powell thought that some of the members were labouring under a confusion of thought, and that confusion lay in the question of the word ‘rules.’ They had had a speech from Mr. Trollope about the rules of ringing; what the resolution dealt with was the rules of the Council. They were not concerned at all in that resolution with the deeper question of the rules of ringing. Was it not true that the rules of that Council were things which were binding only on the Council, and as such could in no case be carried out by the associations? They were not concerned with points such as those raised by Mr. Trollope. With regard to the question as a whole, he felt rather anxious on the matter. He supposed they all sympathised with the idea that it would be a splendid thing if they could be linked more closely officially as well as unofficially with the associations, but there was a great danger in trying to draw the cords too tight. He believed that the Midland Counties Association and the Yorkshire Association had recently, in dealing with Spliced Minor and Doubles peal ringing, gone further than that Council had gone in laying down that which they would be prepared to accept as a peal. If they put into their rules that they agreed to abide by the decisions of the Council, did it not imply that they also promised that they would not go further than the Council went? He was delighted to see the Midland Counties Association make this experiment, and he would look forward with a great deal of interest and a certain amount of entertainment to see how it worked out in practice. If the Council adopted this resolution, did it not mean that those who had gone further than the Council would have to draw back?

Mr. Law James’ amendment, on being put, was defeated, and Mr. Cave’s resolution was carried by a large majority.

Mr. Faulkner asked what the Council would do if an association declined to act on the suggestion?

The President: Nothing; it is merely a request. You cannot do anything if they refuse to act upon it.

Mr. Cave then moved: ‘That a committee be appointed to consider, and, if thought necessary, to revise the rules of the Council and report to the next meeting.’

Mr. J. S. Goldsmith seconded.

Mr. C. T. Coles said the Midland Counties Association within the last two years had already ignored the decisions of the Council on thirty occasions in ringing peals which did not accord with the decisions of the Council which made it obvious that the rules of the Council were hopelessly out of date.

Alderman Pritchett suggested that the motion be altered to read: ‘That the Standing Committee be requested to consider, etc.’ He did not think they wanted a special committee, but the Standing Committee, if they desired to do so, could delegate the work to a sub-committee. That seemed to him the proper way to approach the matter if it required consideration at all, which he was very doubtful about.

The amendment was accepted and the motion carried.

LIVERPOOL FOR NEXT YEAR’S MEETING.

The Council next considered where they should meet next year, the Secretary reporting that the Standing Committee recommended that, as the meeting was due to be held in the North, it should take place at Ripon.

Mr. P. J. Johnson urged the claims of Leeds, which, though not a cathedral city, nevertheless had many attractions to offer to the Council, including six excellent rings of eight and the ring of twelve bells at the Parish Church. The hotel accommodation and the railway facilities were excellent, and in all respects Leeds was a far more convenient place than Ripon.

Mr. Murphy offered the Council a very cordial welcome to Dublin, if they would go.

Mr. G. R. Newton invited the Council to go, to Liverpool, whose claims he eloquently pleaded.

The President said that, while they appreciated the offer of the invitation to Dublin, they looked upon that city as being in the west, and its claims would have to be considered when the turn of the next meeting in the West came up for decision. Dublin was a place, which, from the point of view of the Council, would require a good deal of organisation to get there.

Only the other three places were put to the vote, Ripon and Leeds receiving 23 each, and Liverpool 34, so that the last-named city will be the meeting place in 1931.

The Rev. H. Drake had given notice of the following motions: ‘That a collection of lantern slides be formed by the Council to illustrate ringing in its various aspects,’ and ‘All notices of motion to be laid before the Council shall be sent in the names of either of individual members, or of affiliated societies, and shall reach the secretary in time for them to be published a week before Easter as a preliminary agenda. Within a fortnight after Easter other resolutions may be sent to him, but in this case only in the names of the societies.’ Mr. Drake asked that these motions might be referred to the Standing Committee to be considered by them when considering the other matters referred to them. This course was agreed to.

‘AN OUT-OF-DATE STATEMENT.’

Mr. J. S. Goldsmith in accordance with notice of motion called attention to the Council’s statement on ‘Regular Methods’ contained in the Rules and Decisions of the Council. He pointed out that the statement did not cover the ringing of ‘Little’ methods, and was contrary to Mr. Trollope’s suggestion with regard to the altered conditions as the result of spliced ringing. The statement appeared to be out of date, and he moved: ‘That the Methods Committee be requested to review the Council’s statement on regular methods contained in Rules and Decisions, and report to the next meeting of the Council what, if any, amendments they consider are necessary in view of present developments in method ringing.’

Mr. G. Grover seconded and the motion was carried without discussion.

The President proposed a formal vote of thanks to the Archbishop of Canterbury for his courtesy in allowing the Council to use Lambeth Palace for its meeting. This was at once agreed to.

Canon Elsee suggested that a message of greeting should be sent to a respected member of the Council who was laid aside by ill-health - Rev. C. D. P. Davies.

Rev. C. W. O. Jenkyn seconded the motion, which was cordially carried.

The President said he understood there were present that day at least four original members of the Council, viz., Canon Coleridge, Canon Baker, Canon Elsee and Mr. J. Griffin (applause).

Canon Coleridge proposed a vote of thanks to the president, and expressed the gratitude of the members for the admirable way in which he had conducted the meeting. This having been carried, the President briefly replied, and the business terminated.

After the meeting, many of the members took the opportunity of inspecting the Palace, and later on there was a large gathering of ringers and friends at Anderton’s Hotel (the headquarters of the Council during the week-end), where an enjoyable social took place, musical items and handbell ringing helping to pass a very pleasant evening.

Major J. H. B. Hesse asks us to state that he was not in favour of the hon. members of the Council being compelled to pay an annual subscription, as reported, but of Alderman Pritchett’s proposition that hon. members should be invited to subscribe.

The Ringing World, July 25th, 1930, pages 474 to 475