1926.

"Welsh

February 11.-The Rev. Canon R. E. Roberts, M.A., on Music in the Tudor Period", Mrs. Mary Davies, Mus. Doc., in the chair.

March 12.-Mr. D. L. Evans, Public Record Office, "Wales and the Black Prince". Chairman, Mr. R. Arthur Roberts, F.R.Hist.S. March 26.-Mr. E. Morgan Humphreys, Caernarvon, "Some Nineteenth Century Letters." Chairman, Mr. John Hinds, Lord Lieutenant of Carmarthenshire.

April 20.-The Annual Banquet held at the Hotel Cecil. Chief guest, The Most Rev. His Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury. Chairman, The Right Hon. Lord Justice Bankes.

June 29.-The Annual Conversazione at 35, Lowndes Square, by invitation of the Right Hon. Sir Alfred Mond, Bart., M.P., and Lady Mond.

The Meetings of the Cymmrodorion Section of the Eisteddfod were held in the Llewelyn Hall (Y.M.C.A.), St. Helen's Road, Swansea. (1) On Monday afternoon, August 2, 1926, at 5 p.m. Chairman, Mr. John Hinds, Lord Lieutenant. (2) On Wednesday morning, August 4, 1926, at 9.30 a.m. Chairman, Professor Henry Lewis, M.A. Subjects for discussion: (1) "Wales and the Comity of Nations". Introduction by the Chairman. Address by the Rev. Herbert Morgan, M.A. (2) "Welsh Place-Names and their Preservation." Address by the Chairman. Paper by Mr. D. Arthen Evans (Secretary of the National Union of Welsh Societies).

Arrangements for the coming Lecture Session include an address by Mr. T. P. Ellis, M.A., F.R.Hist.S., on "Hywel Dda: Codifier". Mr. Ellis is the author of the volumes on "Welsh Tribal Law and Custom" recently issued by the Oxford University Press, and of "The First Extent of Bromfield and Yale, A.D. 1315", published in our Record Series. The imminence of the celebration of the Millenary of Hywel Dda gives additional interest to this address by one who has closely studied the system of government, society, and law in Wales say, about a thousand years

ago.

In the course of the Session we also hope to have the story of Dr. Dafydd Samwel, the friend of Captain Cook, by Mr. W. Ll. Davies, of the National Library; an address on "Welsh Culture in Early Times", by Mr. Ellis Davies, M.P., and another of Dr. Thomas Richards' racy contributions to the history of the period of the Reformation, which he entitles "The Troubles of Dr. William Luce ".

Arrangements for the Annual Dinner will be announced in the near future.

The Council have every reason to be gratified with the literary output during the year, and it is hoped that its research, interest and variety have appealed in one way or another to all the members. Two volumes of "Y Cymmrodor" have been issued. Vol. XXXVI, produced in February, includes the second part of the Rev. Acton Griscom's elaborate examination of Early Welsh MSS., the Book of Basingwerk and MS. Cotton Cleopatra B.V., with facsimiles (for which we are indebted to the generosity of the author), a contribution which we venture to say has not yet received due attention from Welsh students; Professor Gwynn Jones' review of Sir John Morris-Jones' remarkable volume on "Cerdd Dafod", with a suggestive dissertation on "Welsh Poetic Art"; Dr. Thomas Richards' interesting note on "The Indiscretion of Anthony Wood"; a valuable record of the history and present condition of "Denbigh Castle", by Mr. Wilfrid J. Hemp, F.S.A., Inspector of Ancient Monuments for Wales; an illustrated account of some of the Jacobite relics at Peniarth in Merioneth by Mr. Herbert M. Vaughan, F.S.A., and a review of Dr. William Rees' "South Wales and the March, 1284-1415", by Professor Morgan Watkin, M.A.

Vol. XXXVII has been devoted entirely to a compre

X

hensive report by Dr. R. E. Mortimer Wheeler of the excavation of the Roman Gaer near Brecon. Dr. Wheeler, who rendered most admirable service to the National Museum of Wales, as Keeper of Archæology and subsequently as Director, has recently been appointed Director of the London Museum, an important appointment on which we cordially congratulate him, whilst retaining the hope that his great services to Welsh archæology will not be discontinued. In his volume on "The Roman Gaer at Brecon ", which includes an extremely valuable section (very fully illustrated) on Samian Ware by Mr. T. Davies Pryce, F.S.A. and Dr. Felix Oswald, F.S.A., we have a standard work which adds greatly to our knowledge of the Roman period in Wales, and incidentally adds very largely to the prestige of this Society. To Dr. Wheeler and his collaborators the Council desire to express their warmest thanks for entirely disinterested and unpaid labour, and to the Gaer Excavation Committee for the donation they kindly contributed towards the necessarily heavy expense of producing the volume in an adequate manner.

The Transactions for 1925 contains in addition to the list of members, the quaint ecclesiastical story of "The Whitford Leases: a Battle of Wits", by Mr. Thomas Richards, D.Litt., and a Supplement containing a number of addresses by leading Welshmen on the preservation of the Welsh Language, a matter on which we are anxiously awaiting the Report of the Departmental Committee of the Board of Education, of which the late Bishop Owen was the Chairman.

Looking to the future we have in hand a volume of Transactions for the current year containing Canon R. E. Roberts' paper on "Welsh Music in the Tudor Period", Mr. D. L. Evans' article on "Wales and the Black Prince", Mr. E. Morgan Humphreys' notes on "Some

Nineteenth Century Letters", with portraits of some wellknown Noncomformist divines of the period, and a paper on Welsh Place Names, a subject that is engaging some attention at the present time. The volume also includes an informing "supplement" on "The Religious Census of 1676", an inquiry into its historical value in reference to Wales. We have in hand some interesting material for the next volume of Y Cymmrodor.

In the Record Series we hope to publish before the end of the year No. 12 (the 22nd vol.) of the Series, "The Welsh Port Books", edited by Dr. E. A. Lewis, of the University College of Wales, containing analyses of the Extant Port Books of the Port of Cardiff and its members (1529 to 1603), [the legal port of Cardiff in those days extended from Worms Head to Chepstow ;] customers' entries in the towns of Swansea and Neath, "creeks of the Cardiff port"; the customs accounts of Tenby, Haverford, and Milford; Controllers entries in the town of Carmarthen, termed "a creek of Milford", and copies of the Port Books of the Ports of North Wales, including Beaumaris, Conway, Carnarvon, all of them described as "Creeks of Chester"; a compendious collection of information concerning Welsh sea trade at the end of the sixteenth century.

This will be followed by another important volume containing the Duchy of Lancaster Surveys of Monmouth, Grosmont, Skenfrith, White-Castle and Caldecott. Other valuable contributions are under consideration, and if the necessary funds are forthcoming it is hoped to publish some of them at an early date.

Reference was made in last year's Report to the foundation of an Annual Lecture at the British Academy in memory of the late Sir John Rhys. As this Society was associated with the foundation of the memorial, and is

represented on the Committee, we may mention that the second Lecture-the first having been delivered by Professor Sir John Morris-Jones on the 28th of January, 1925-was given on the 24th of November, 1926, by Professor John Fraser (Jesus Professor of Celtic in the University of Oxford), the subject being "Linguistic Evidence and Archæological and Ethnological Facts".

The finances of the Society, having regard to the losses already mentioned and the stress of the times are in a satisfactory condition, but in view of present commitments and the work in contemplation, the Council repeats the appeal for some generous donations from our wealthier members in addition to their annual or life subscriptions. It is worthy of note that out of our total revenue we have spent over £1,320 on publications apart from the expenditure on the Records Series.

Under the Society's Rules the term of office of the following officers expire :

·

THE PRESIDent,

THE VICE-PRESIDENTS,

THE HONORARY AUDITORS,

and ten members of the Council retire in accordance with

Rule 4, viz. :

THE REV. DR. HARTWELL JONES,

SIR ROBERT ARMSTRONG-JONES,

MR. H. IDRIS BELL,

HIS HONOUR JUDGE IVOR Bowen,

DR. ALFRED DANIELL,

DR. MARY DAVIES,

MR. W. E. DAVIES.

REV. J. CROWLE ELLIS,

CAPTAIN ERNEST EVANS, M.P.,

SIR E. VINCENT EVANS.

All these are eligible for re-election, if it be thought fit,

and there are no other vacancies on the Council.