Bird Notes and News 



The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds 



ANNUAL MEETING 



The Annual Meeting of the Society was held 

 at the Guildhall, Westminster, S.W., on 

 February 21st, when Her Grace the Duchess 

 of Portland, President, presided over a crowded 

 attendance. Viscount Grey of Fallodon, K.G., 

 who had intended to be present and speak, 

 was, unfortunately, prevented by serious 

 illness at the last moment. The President, 

 having expressed her pleasure in meeting so 

 many friends of the cause in which she herself 

 was deeply interested, briefly reviewed the 

 progress marked in the Annual Report ; and 

 the adoption of the Report and Statement of 

 Accounts was moved by Sir Montagu Sharpe, 

 K.C., Chairman of the Council, who, in the 

 course of his speech, said that the aims of the 

 Society were well summed up in one of the 

 paragraphs of the Report : — 



" The Society occupies a unique position, offering 

 a meeting-place for all who are interested in wild 

 birds. It is not simply a society for the prevention 

 of cruelty to birds ; nor is it a purely scientific body 

 occupied with the advancement of ornithological 

 erudition. It seeks to induce appreciation of the 

 charm and fascination of wild birds as part of the 

 heritage of life and beauty we enjoy ; and also know- 

 ledge of their value as an essential factor in the welfare 

 of human life. It is the one national Society in 

 Great Britain workmg solely for the intelligent 

 preservation of wild birds and their protection from 

 the collector, the bird-catcher, the man with a gun, 

 and the plume-hunter. Its scope may be said to 

 cover the practical side of ornithology — the living 

 free bird in its natural relations to man, and man 

 in his relations to the bird." 



The resolution was seconded by Earl Buxton, 

 G.C.M.G., who in his address referred especially 

 to the work of the Home Office Advisory 

 Committee, and the need for greater uniformity 

 and simplicity in the Bird Protection laws ; 

 to the passing of the Plumage Act and the 

 consideration given to the matter by the 

 Board of Trade Committee, with whose 

 decisions most reasonable persons would, he 

 believed, agree ; to the work of the Society's 

 Watchers ; and to the intention of the Board 

 of Works to institute bird-sanctuaries in the 

 London Parks. One portion of Lord Buxton's 

 address, dealing with the egg-collector, is 

 given more fully on another page. 



The resolution was agreed to. The President 

 was elected amid applause, on the motion of 

 Sir John Cockburn, K.C.M.G., seconded by 

 Mr. Meade-Waldo. The Council and Officers 



for the year were elected, as proposed by 

 Lord Lilford, seconded by Sir Harry Brittain, 

 whose reference to his Bill for prohibiting the 

 use by bird-catchers of decoys and bird-Hme 

 met with sympathetic applause ; and supported 

 by Mr. Gater, Director of Education for 

 Lancashire. A vote of thanks to the Duchess 

 for presiding, and to the speakers, was moved 

 by Mr. J. R. B. Masefield, who spoke of the 

 ignorance and prejudice which were responsible 

 for the loss of so many birds killed by farmers 

 and keepers. In seconding this, Mr. Lemon, 

 Hon. Secretary, added the thanks of the 

 meeting to the Middlesex County Council and 

 Quarter Sessions. The Duchess of Portland, in 

 responding, alluded to the evils of bird-caging, 

 remarking that she had recently been invited 

 to be patroness of a Cage-Bird Show and had 

 sent a reply of a kind its promoters woidd not 

 care to receive a second time. 



A report of the proceedings will be published, 

 as usual, with the Society's Annual Report. 



COUNCIL MEETING 



The Council of the Society met at the Guild- 

 hall on February 3rd, the Chairman, Sir 

 Montagu Sharpe, K.C., presiding. 



The Hon. Secretary's Report, after con- 

 gratulating the Chairman, on behalf of the 

 Council, upon the honour of Knighthood which 

 had been conferred on him, referred with great 

 regret to the sudden death, on January 13th, of 

 Miss E. S. Anderson, who had been associated 

 with the work of the Society since 1909, and 

 its Assistant Secretary since 1915. Thoroughly 

 loyal, sincere, conscientious, and dependable, 

 her sterling value was appreciated best by those 

 who worked with her and knew her most 

 intimately. Miss Anderson was a daughter 

 of the late Sir George Anderson, formerly 

 Chief Justice of the Bahamas. It was agreed 

 that a letter expressive of the Council's sym- 

 pathy should be addressed to her sister, Mrs. 

 Shearburn White. Proceeding, the report 

 stated that twelve lectures had been given and 

 six Bird and Tree Festivals held. Complaints 

 recently received indicated a revival in the 

 use of the illegal pole-trap on moors and in 

 forests, and special action might be necessary 

 in order to deal with it. 



The Report of the Finance and General 

 Purposes Committee dealt with the accounts 



