R. J. Lloyd.
La Universitato, Liverpool.
THE PROGRESS OF ESPERANTO IN GREAT BRITAIN AND ABROAD.
The contents of this section are supplied by the Hon. Sec. of the London Esperanto Club, who invites all Esperantists to send monthly reports of the spread of the International Language in their districts. Communications must reach 14, Norfolk Street, London, W.C., before the 8th of each month.[3]
A meeting of the Committee of the London Esperanto Club was held at 100, Gracechurch Street, on Monday, 15th August, Mr. O’Connor in the chair. The chief business of the meeting was the transfer of the hon. secretaryship of the Club from Mr. H. Bolingbroke Mudie to Miss Lawrence. Mr. Mudie, who has given all his leisure time for nearly two years to the work of spreading Esperanto, made a brief statement as to the position of the Club, expressing his regret that he was unable to devote the necessary time to the work. In future he would be compelled to devote his leisure to The Esperantist and to general propaganda. He handed over to the treasurer the books and the balance of money due to the Club, amounting to £41 odd, and submitted a balance sheet showing that the total outstanding indebtedness of the Club would not amount to much more than £10, which was more than covered by debts due to the Club. The Club, in addition, holds a valuable stock of books for sale.
Mr. W. T. Stead, in moving a resolution accepting with regret the resignation of Mr. Mudie, expressed the feeling of all present in declaring that such a resolution would be incomplete without a rider declaring how grateful they were for the invaluable services which Mr. Mudie had rendered them ever since the formation of the Club. But for his zeal, industry, and intelligence the Club would never have attained its present flourishing position, nor would the prospects of Esperanto be anything like so good in England as they fortunately were that day. Only those who had been closely associated with Mr. Mudie could appreciate the labour and time which he had devoted to the work. Mr. Mudie had not only been secretary, but he had practically been treasurer, and so well had he discharged his stewardship that as hon. treasurer he (Mr. Stead) for the first time in his life had the pleasure of receiving a balance instead of being called upon to defray a deficit. (Applause).
Miss Schafer seconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously.
Mr. Mudie responded.
Esperanto in Belgium.
Messrs. Rhodes and Ellis, the President and Secretary of the Keighley Society, have just returned from a circular tour round the Esperantist cities in Belgium, visiting in turn Antwerp, Brussels, Louvain, Malines, Ghent, Bruges, Courtrai, and Liège. Notwithstanding the fact that their visit took place at a time when the activity of Esperantists is at its lowest ebb on account of the holiday season, there were abundant evidences of the progress of Esperanto in that most populous, busy, commercial country. Special meetings were arranged in their honour in Antwerp, Brussels, and Louvain. The last-named town, which has a population of about 45,000, has three sections of a Society that numbers more than 200, of whom the greater proportion can speak Esperanto with considerable facility. A means of continuing the interest of the elementary students after their first course is worth adopting more generally. The students are divided into small groups, and each group maintains its "ever-circulator," the contributions being commented upon by the individual members, and finally corrected by So Mathys, the energetic secretary of the society. The contributors retain their anonymity. At Brussels Mr. Law, of Battersea, was present, and this unexpected rencontre added a pleasant surprise. Here another proof of the utility of Esperanto was forthcoming, for So Caneff, a Bulgarian, told the meeting his experiences. He left Philipopolis to become a student of Political Economy at the Brussels University, knowing only two words of French, "moi, Bulgare," and was labelled like a parcel of goods with the address of his destination. Arriving at Brussels, So Blanjean taught him French by means of Esperanto, and since then he has attended his course as a student and duly passed his examination. So Jamin, the chief Editor of the Belga Sonorilo, was the life and soul of the two meetings which took place in the Belgian capital. His coadjutor, So Seynaeve, was, however, unable to be present on account of his having arranged to take part in the Dover-Calais celebration; but he was seen at Courtrai on his return, and was full of enthusiasm on account of the successful consummation of that notable reunion. It seems that the spread of Esperanto in Belgium, except in the case of a few sporadic instances, is due to a series of letters which appeared in Le Petit Bleu from the pen of Lieut. Lemaire. At Antwerp one of the members has placed on the market, as a means of propaganda, cigarettes bearing the name and the green star of Esperanto as their special badge. At Ghent the group is almost entirely composed of University students, and on account of the vacation no meeting could be arranged, but So Cogen detailed the progress of the movement in his city. The old-world beauties of Bruges were inspected under the guidance of Lieut. Lenken, and a short call was made on So Witteryck, the publisher of Belga Sonorilo and the writer of an amusing book, Kelkaj Esperantaj Floroj, a booklet which is a very good substitute for the Humoraĵoj, now out of print.