No. XI. Northern Scottish Counties-13 Clubs: 1 Member. Name. 5 Callander. 40 Aberdeen. 14 Dundee. 76 Brechin. 327 Perth St. Mark's. 42 Crieff. Secretary T. Harris Hunter, 1 Edin Terrace, Edinburgh Road, Perth. XII. Southern Scottish Counties-10 Clubs: 1 Member. Secretary: John McBurnie, Sheriff-Court House, Dumfries. XIII. London-1 Club: 1 Member. 1 Burns Club of London. Secretary: J. A. Brown, 11 The Drive, Ilford, London. XIV. North-Eastern England-11 Clubs: 1 Member. 224 Ashington. 270 Coquetdale. 158 Darlington. 163 Gateshead. 156 Newcastle. 89 Sunderland. 195 Shiremoor. Secretary: Matthew Neilson, 14 East Whickham Street, Sunderland. XV. North-Western England-5 Clubs: 1 Member. 18 Liverpool (B.C.) 366 Liverpool (R.B.C.) 281 Vickerstown. 236 Whitehaven. 363 Barrow, St. Andrew's Soc. Secretary: W. J. S. Archer, 6 Devonshire Road, Princes Park, Liverpool. XVI. Midlands of England-7 Clubs: 1 Member. Secretary: John Currie, 20 Arboretum Street, Nottingham. Secretary Geo. P. Findlay, Boating Club Lane, Londonderry, N. Ireland. XIX. South Africa-1 Club: 1 Member. 373 Red Hill, Natal. XX. Australia-2 Clubs: 1 Member. 261 Sydney. XXI. Canada-6 Clubs: 1 Member. 298 Nanaimo (B.C.) 305 New Waterford (N.S.) 325 Vancouver Fellowship (B.C.) 344 Ladysmith (B.C.) 303 Victoria (B.C.) 353 St. Catharines (Ont.) Secretary James H. Baxter, 21 Bleecker Avenue, Troy, N.Y., U.S.A. MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE COUNCIL. COWDRAY HALL, ABERDEEN, 8TH SEPTEMBER, 1928. The Annual Conference of the Council of the Burns Federation was held here to-day at 10 a.m. Sir Joseph Dobbie, S.S.C., presided, and was accompanied on the platform by the officials and other office-bearers. Delegates were present from clubs at Kilmarnock, Aberdeen, Alexandria, Alloway, Ayr, Balerno, Bannockburn, Cambuslang, Clydebank, Dalkeith, Dalmuir, Dumfries, Dundee, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Galashiels, Glasgow, Glencraig, Gorebridge, Grahamston, Greenock, Hamilton, Kilbirnie, Lochee, Mauchline, Musselburgh, Newbattle, Newcraighall, Newton-on-Ayr, Old Kilpatrick, Perth, Portobello, Riccarton, Rutherglen, Sinclairtown, Uddingston; Darlington, Derby, Hull, London, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sunderland; Londonderry; Atlanta (Ga.) and New York. Apologies for absence were intimated from Sir Robert Bruce, LL.D.; Sir Alexander Gibb, G.B.E., C.B.; Mr. Thomas Killin, J.P.; and Mr. Alexander M'Kenzie. Colonel Walter Scott (New York), one of the Honorary Presidents, cabled-" May the deliberations of Conference add one more stone to the World's monument of Robert Burns." The Hon. Secretary intimated receipt of a poetical tribute to Burns by A. W. L., of Troy Burns Club, U.S.A. In his opening speech, the President read the following telegram from the Earl of Rosebery, K.G., senior Honorary President:"I rejoice greatly to think that the Burns Federation is so prosperous." In an able and comprehensive address, the President reviewed the progress made in the Burns movement during the past year, and claimed that every Burns Club works to promote friendship and the rights of manhood, to break down class animosities and class distinctions among honest men and women, and to hasten Burns's ideal of brotherhood throughout the world. The Hon. Secretary read the Minutes of last Annual Conference, which were adopted and signed. The Hon. Secretary submitted his annual report. HON. SECRETARY'S ANNUAL REPORT. It is a far cry from Derby, where our last Conference was held, to the "braif toun of Bon Accord, but the presence here to-day of nearly 250 delegates from Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, and the U.S.A. shows that our confidence was not misplaced when we accepted the invitation of the local Burns Club to hold our conference for the first time in this famous old city. We Burnsians cannot forget that the cradle of the poet's family was in the neighbouring county of Mearns, and that Burns himself was a welcome visitor to the city during his tour of the Highlands in 1787. Our presence in Aberdeen is of the nature of a missionary enterprise, and we trust that this visit may bring the Federation and its aims prominently before this almost untapped area of Scotland, and so add many clubs to our roll. There are very few federated Burns Clubs north of the Dee, but the love of our National Bard is quite as strong in Aberdeenshire as it is in his native county. There is scarcely a town or village in the northeast of Scotland that does not celebrate his birthday with as much fervid eloquence and wealth of song as any town in the south. Let any one who doubts this statement read the local papers of this district immediately after the January celebrations, and his doubts will depart. To the Federation, which has been striving to preserve our Scottish vernacular, this visit has a peculiar interest, as there is no part of Scotland that has preserved its dialect so purely as this corner of our country. Its vernacular plays of rural life, its rich ballad literature, its classic Johnny Gibb and the poems of "Hamewith" Murray all deserve our admiration. We do not know a south country newspaper that could or would devote so much space to dialect articles as the Aberdeen Weekly Journal. The weekly dialogues of the rustic philosophers, "Mains " and "Hilley," and the pawky letters of "Jeems," both in the sinewy local dialect, as well as the fine literary quality of the articles from a "Scottish Study " by Alexander Keith, and the interesting topographical studies of Mr. Fraser, the City Librarian, show there is a steady demand for this purely Scottish fare, and long may it be so. A year ago Sir Robert Bruce demitted office, after having for four years filled the presidential chair with dignity and great acceptance. The Federation has been singularly fortunate in having as his successor Sir Joseph Dobbie, a wellknown patriotic Scot of wide interests, and I have great pleasure in reporting the continued advance of the Federation under his guidance. |