2. Exchange of fraternal greetings on the anniversary of the Poet's natal day. 3. Members of Registered Clubs who have provided themselves with pocket diplomas are entitled to attend meetings of all Clubs on the Roll of the Federation, they being subject to the rules of the Club visited, but having no voice in its management unless admitted a member according to local form. 4. Members are entitled to be supplied, through the Secretaries of their respective Clubs, with copies of all Works published by the Federation at a discount of 333 per cent. 5. A list of Lecturers, Essayists, and Judges for Children's Competitions will be supplied to Clubs on application. BOOKS PUBLISHED BY THE FEDERATION. BURNS HOLOGRAPH MANUSCRIPTS in the Kilmarnock Monument Museum, with Notes BURNS CHRONICLE and CLUB DIRECTORY... ... 1889 ... 1s. 6d 1s Od Copies of the last three vols. may still be had on application to the Hon. Treasurer, MINUTES OF ANNUAL MEETING OF BURNS FEDERATION. CROWN AND MITRE HOTEL, CARLISLE, 7th September, 1912. THE Annual Meeting of the Executive Council of the Burns Federation was held here to-day, at 11.15 a.m., Mr D. M'Naught, J.P., presiding. Delegates were present from the following clubs : No. 0, Kilmarnock; No. 1, London Robert Burns Club; No. 3, Glasgow Tam o' Shanter; No. 7, Glasgow Thistle; No. 9, Glasgow Royalty; No. 14, Dundee; No. 20, Airdrie; No. 21, Greenock; No. 33, Glasgow Haggis; No. 36, Glasgow Rosebery; No. 48, Paisley; No. 49, Glasgow Bridgeton; No. 57, Thornliebank; No. 62, Cupar; No. 63, Mossgiel; No. 67, Glasgow Carlton; No. 68, Glasgow Sandyford; No. 71, Carlisle; No. 75, Kirn; No. 76, Brechin; No. 79, Corstorphine; No. 82, Arbroath; No. 85, Dunfermline United; No. 86, Cumnock Winsome Willie; No. 89, Sunderland; No. 91, Shettleston; No. 96, Jedburgh; No. 97, Kilmarnock Bellfield; No. 98, Lanark; No. 99, Barlinnie; No. 100, Hamilton Mossgiel; No. 118, Glasgow Albany; No. 121, Hamilton Junior; No. 123, Auchinleck; No. 125, Blackburn-onAlmond; No. 126, Falkirk; No. 133, Newarthill; No. 139, Glasgow National; No. 150, Kilmarnock Jolly Beggars; No. 151, Old Kilpatrick; No. 152, Hamilton; No. 153, The Scottish; No. 155, East Stirlingshire; No. 156, Newcastle and Tyneside; No. 163, Gateshead and District; No. 164, Kinning Park; No. 165, Wallsend; No. 169, Glasgow and District; No. 173, Irvine; No. 177, Prestwick; No. 178, Kilmarnock Begbie's; No. 181, Glasgow Primrose; No. 183, Londonderry; No. 186, Kilmarnock Glencairn; No. 187, Galashiels; No. 189, Clydebank Barns o' Clyde; No. 192, Ayrshire Association; No. 195, Shiremoor Blue Bell; No. 198, Gorebridge; No. 199, Newbattle; No. 201, Carlisle Newtown; No. 202, Govan Ye Cronies; No. 203, Dennistoun Jolly Beggars; No. 204, Dundalk ; Apologies were intimated from Mr James Thomson, London; Mr St. John M'Donald, London; Mr Adam Mackay, Kilmarnock; Mr Philip Sulley, F.S.A., London; Mr Alex. Pollock, Glasgow; Mr J. Taylor Gibb, Mauchline; and Dr Anderson, Newcastle-on-Tyne. Mr D. Main, President of the Carlisle Burns Club, welcomed the Delegates to the city, and in a very interesting speech recalled some of the incidents connected with the visit of Burns to Carlisle. The President, and Provost Smith, Kilmarnock, on behalf of the Federation, returned thanks for the kindly and enthusiastic welcome which had been received. SECRETARY'S REPORT. Mr Thomas Amos, M.A., the Hon. Secretary, submitted his Annual Report, which was in the following terms: For the second time in the history of the Burns Federation our Annual Meeting is being held south of the Border. We need to make no apology for having met to-day in this ancient city, whose name occurs so often in Scottish song, ballad, and story. In his Border tour it was visited by Burns, and the Cumbrian shores and hills must have been well known to him during his stay in Dumfriesshire. Our presence in Carlisle may in a way be taken as a thankful acknowledgment of the fact that the appreciation of the genius of Burns is by no means limited to his fellow-countrymen. The year that has elapsed since our great meeting in Glasgow has been one of comparative quiet after the strenuous activity of the past few years owing to the Auld Brig and Scottish Chair movements; nevertheless I have great pleasure in announcing a steady advance in our life and work. Four Clubs have affiliated during the year, viz. :-Glasgow Daisy, Cambuslang Wingate, Colorado Springs, U.S.A., and Greenock St. John's, and the roll of the Federation now numbers 210 Clubs. During the year eighty members' diplomas have been sent out, many of these to be used by young Scotsmen as a means of introduction to Burns Clubs in our Colonies. The outstanding event in the Burns world during the past year has undoubtedly been the establishment of the Chair of Scottish History and Literature in Glasgow University. After years of mingled hope and despair we at last see the dream of the late William Freeland more than realised. Years ago at our meeting in Dumfries he began the agitation for a Lectureship in Scottish Literature, and now, thanks very largely to the great success of last year's Glasgow Exhibition, we are assured that in the immediate future Scottish students will be able to have special instruction in the history and literature of their own country. Such a Chair will perforce deal with Burns and his poetical heritage, and as students of the Bard we wish it all success. In this movement one cannot assess the value of the work done by the Burns Federation from the amount of money credited to us, although that sum is by no means inconsiderable. We first made this clamant want known, we assiduously kept the movement before the public for many years, and now that the huge task has been accomplished we may modestly congratulate ourselves on the part we have played. It is a pleasure to report that the Chronicle has again been a success. We have never had so many Clubs contributing to the publishing fund, and the whole edition was quickly bought up. That the Chronicle has been able to exist for twenty-one years and each year give to the world something fresh and interesting on a seemingly threadbare subject is, in a great measure, owing to the unwearied efforts of our veteran editor, to whom we again acknowledge our indebtedness. Another item worthy of our notice was the recent unveiling of a statue to Burns in Montrose by Dr Andrew Carnegie, who delivered on the occasion a very able and characteristic speech, in which he extolled the worth and showed the growing power of the Poet. In addition to these leading features of the year, we have to record our appreciation of the quiet missionary work in spreading a knowledge of Scottish song and poetry among the young that is being so successfully carried on by many of our Clubs. The best work for the Federation in the future seems to lie in this direction. visitation of local clubs by central district organisations such as exist in Glasgow and Ayrshire is doing much to bind the Burnsians of these districts together and to vitalise club life. Burns Clubs now fully understand that they have an educational as well as a social side, and in many cases the patriotic work that is being done deserves all credit. It is with great pride we note the growing The We importance and size of our annual meetings. To bring lovers of Burns together is one of the aims of the Federation, and this gathering to-day is a wonderful proof of its success in this direction. have here two hundred delegates from Burns Clubs in Scotland, England, and Ireland, and I have no doubt each will find himself richer in experience and wisdom by his visit to the ancient city of Carlisle, whose Mayor and whose Burns Club we sincerely thank for their kindly and generous hospitality. On the motion of Mr G. H. Cockburn, the Secretary was thanked for his Report. FINANCES. Mr G. A. Innes, Kilmarnock, on behalf of Mr Joseph Brockie, the Hon. Treasurer submitted the financial statement, which showed that the balance last year was £301 5s 7d, and had £100 not been expended in connection with the Chair of Scottish History the balance would have been £337 10s 9d, as compared with an actual balance of £237 10s 9d. The Federation during the year had actually made a gain of about £36. The Report was unanimously adopted. THE "CHRONICLE." The President, in submitting a report on the Burns Chronicle, said that the publication continued to pay its way. He said the study of Burns was only beginning, and that it took a great deal of trouble to get rid of the many false impressions which existed in regard to Burns. It was agreed to continue the annual subsidy in aid of the publication of the Chronicle. THE SCOTTISH CHAIR. Mr Joseph Martin, Glasgow, submitted a report on the Chair of Scottish History and Literature. At the last annual meeting, he said, the Rev. Mr Forrest reported that no increase in the fund for this object had been made during the previous year, but at that time we were all looking forward to a satisfactory result from the Scottish Exhibition of National History. The practical inauguration of this scheme was made in 1907, although prior to that period the late Mr Freeland brought the matter before the Federation and other associations, and in the interval it had not been lost sight of. The first meeting was held in the rooms of the National Burns Club, Limited, Glasgow, on 25th April, 1907, when those taking part in the discussion were Professor Smart, Mr M'Naught, Rev. David Graham, Dr Neilson, the late Rector Murray, Captain Sneddon, and others. Commenting on this a report appears in vol. I. (1907) of Scotia, the journal of the St. Andrew's Society, in which the writer says:-"At last there appears to be a prospect of something practical being done in the way of establishing a Chair of Scottish History and Literature in Glasgow University. Inspired by the success of the Auld Brig preservation enterprise the National Burns Club, Limited, has moved in the matter. A preliminary committee has been appointed, and there will before long, probably, be an appeal to the general public. No one who knows anything of the allied subjects will consider that this active step has come a moment too soon. At a subsequent meeting held on 4th July, 1907, a committee was formed with Dr Wallace as convener, and an appeal was immediately made to the public for subscriptions for the purpose of the foundation of a Chair of Scottish History and Literature in the University of Glasgow. Following upon this, on 12th February, 1908, the then Lord Provost (Sir William Bilsland) issued a circular to which were appended the names of Sir John Ure Primrose, Sir Donald MacAlister, and Dr Wallace, urging the necessity for the foundation of such a Chair, and in response to that appeal a sum of £2047 11s was subscribed or promised. A committee was constituted on 10th November, 1909, with Dr Wallace as convener, and several members of the original committee were added to this committee, which included Sir Archibald M'Innes Shaw, Sir John Ure Primrose, Sir Donald MacAlister, Sir Thomas Mason, Sir Matthew Arthur, Rev. James Forrest, Messrs J. T. T. Brown, D.D. Binnie, J. L. Eskdale, A. H. Pettigrew, D. M. Stevenson, Provost Wilson, Joseph Martin, George Eyre Todd, John S. Samuel, and others, and meetings were held periodically from that date till 20th May last, on which date the committee was discharged. At that meeting the Honorary Treasurer reported that the amount of money actually in hand was £4639 14s 3d, plus two subscriptions of £100 each, which were considered perfectly safe, and it was resolved on the motion of Sir Donald MacAlister to ask the Exhibition authorities as soon as the approval of the University Committee of the Privy Council was received and pending the completion of the arrangements for the establishment of the Chair, to deposit the £15,000 coming from the Exhibition Executive with the Corporation as a temporary loan to be held as a "Scottish History Chair Endowment Fund" in the joint names of the Lord Provost representing the committee, Sir Donald MacAlister as representing the University, and A. H. Pettigrew as representing the Exhibition authorities. Principal MacAlister also explained at that meeting that steps were being taken by the University to have the Chair established, and on a question being put to the Principal as to whether it would be practicable to have representatives of the various classes of subscribers to the fund associated with the University in the appointment of a Professor, the Principal expressed his sympathy with such an idea, and the following gentlemen were named as a consultative committee for the purpose referred to, viz. :-Dr Wallace, Sir John Ure Primrose, Sir William Bilsland, and Mr John S. Samuel as representing the committee, and Mr A. H. Pettigrew, Professor John Glaister, and Thomas M'Arley as representing the Exhibition authorities. The state of the fund at present stands, with the £15,000 from the Exhibition, at £19,933 3s 6d, and it is expected the £15,000 coming from the Exhibition forming part of this amount will be lodged with the Corporation on temporary loan shortly. We may take it that in six months time it will have earned a sum of £225 interest, bringing the total amount available for the foundation of the Chair to £20,158. The report was adopted. SCHOOL COMPETITIONS. as Mr John Neilson, Thornliebank, submitted a report on the Educational work conducted by Burns Clubs among school children. Ten years ago in the West of Scotland six clubs promoted competitions on the songs and poems of Burns; now no fewer than forty-two clubs were engaged in this work, which had proved educationally and socially a great success. He advocated competitions being held every second year, and advised that the help of teachers should |