104 



Bird Notes and News 



The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. 



COUNCIL MEETING. 



The Council of the Society held its 

 quarterly meeting at 23, Queen Anne's 

 Gate, S.W., on July 18th, when there 

 were present : Mr. Ernest Bell (in the 

 chair), Mr. J. L. Bonhote, Dr. Drewitt, 

 Miss Hall, the Hon. Mrs. Henniker, 

 Mr. W. H, Hudson, Mr. Hastings Lees, 

 Mr. F. E. Lemon (Hon. Sec), Mrs. Lemon, 

 Miss Pollock, Captain Tailby, Miss E. L. 

 Turner, and Miss Gardiner (Secretary). 



Hon. Secretary's Report. 



The Hon. Secretary reported that 

 Bird Protection Orders had been issued 

 for the Isle of Wight, scheduling the 

 Wild Swan and its eggs for protection ; 

 West Suffolk, protecting the Goldfinch 

 all the year ; Aberdeenshire and Stirling- 

 shire, exempting certain birds from pro- 

 tection. Considerable discussion followed 

 as to the two latter Orders, and it was 

 agreed that a protest should be made 

 to the Scottish Office against the removal 

 of any birds, and especially of harmless 

 species like the Kittiwake and interesting 

 ones like the Goosander, from close-time 

 protection ; it was considered that such 

 withdrawal of protection in nesting-time 

 was not only an act of cruelty seldom 

 if ever necessary to keep down the 

 numbers of any bird, but also vitiated 

 the principle of the Act of 1880 which 

 was so strongly contended for by all 

 naturaUsts at that time ; reports from 

 other counties in which like experiments 

 has been made, proved (if proof were 

 needed) that it would be impossible to 

 get the pubhc to obey or the pohce to 

 enforce the Act if once the use of guns 

 and nets is allowed the pubUc during 



the close-season. The close-time destruc- 

 tion of Gulls in Kirkcudbrightshire was 

 also considered. It appeared that the 

 manager of a trout fishery had, in June, 

 offered payment through a local news- 

 paper to all persons alleging any com- 

 plaint against the Black-headed Gull 

 who would send him the dead birds ; 

 the pubUc were therefore invited to 

 break the existing law for the purpose 

 of supplying one-sided evidence by which 

 it was hoped to have the Gull exempted 

 from protection. Arrangements with re- 

 gard to the coming lecture season were 

 reported. 



Finance and General Purposes 

 Committee. 



The quarterly accounts were examined 

 and passed. Mr W. S. Mainprice, of 

 Orchard House, Knutsford, was appointed 

 Local Hon. Secretary in succession to 

 the late Mr. R. H. Watt. The resignation 

 of Mr. Garde w Bedwell as Hon. Sec. for 

 Thetford was received with regret. The 

 following Fellows and Members were 

 elected : — 



Fellows. — R. W. Allars (Loughton) ; 

 Mrs. Badham (Weston-super-Mare) ; Sir 

 John E. Bingham, Bart. (Sheffield) ; Edward 

 C. Booth (Seaton, Yorks.) ; the Hon. G. B. 

 Brooks (Rawtenstall) ; Miss Enderby (East- 

 bourne) ; Miss B. Jeffery (Edinburgh) ; 

 G. W. Jevons (St. Martin's) ; Howard 

 Kingham (Reading) ; J. Morley (Exeter) ; 

 Arthur Norris (Romford) ; R. 0. P. Paddison 

 (Stroud) ; Miss Raine (Staindrop) ; Lady 

 Robinson (Worksop) ; Mrs. Savory 

 (Taunton) ; Rev. C. Warren (Lincoln) ; 

 Miss G. Whibley (Twyford, Hants) ; Major 

 Dalrymple White, M.P. (London, S.W.). 



Members. — ^W. J. Adye (Bradford-on- 

 Avon) ; W. Arbury (Stoke Rochford) ; 

 N. H. Amison (Penrith) ; Miss Beard 

 (Withington) ; E. C. Beaven (Holt) ; Mrs. 



