No. 38

I have copied Scott’s rules almost word for word, only changing such words as are offensive to a Westminster’s ears such as “head of a house” instead of “Captain” as he had written it, & “picking up” instead of “picking up balls at the fives court”. N. B. The Rules in his own handwriting with his signature affixed are in the box with the former ones of the same kind.

At a meeting of Townboys in the VIth L Remove & Upper Elections the following resolutions were proposed and agreed to. (Phillimore in the chair). By Dowdeswell (Prin. Opp.). That

  1. Town Boys in the Sixth & Upper Division of the Remove only have the power of fagging.
  2. That Townboys in the Under Division of the Remove & the Upper Shell are exempt from fagging but have no power to fag; except in the case of a boy who is head of a house.
  3. That no boys above the under Vth Form nor any in the first eleven of cricket or football, or in the eight, be liable to be called to pick up – (by Besly QS).

These rules have been made under the following circumstances. When the extra form (the Under Remove) was made (vid. article in this ledger) it was never properly decided whether the Under Remove were to be considered equal with the Upper, & in consequence have the priviledge of fagging.

Well – As long as there were big fellows in the form it was all very well, & no one cared to moot the question, but this half year there is but one big fellow & he is going into College at Whitsuntide. Now the question was, whether it was better for the school that the little fellows should fag who could not maintain their authority, & that a minor candidate should fag who would himself be fagged, during the next year as a junior. The meeting decided in the negative and drew up some rules; wh. with Scott’s modifications I have inserted above. No 3. was thought necessary because, on the Under Remove being small, all the forms were of course put up a step, the old Upper Shell becoming Under Remove, & Under Shell, upper &c. The consequence of this was of course to upset the working of Scott’s former rules (vid. art. 569 in the old ledger) wherein he forbids any boy above the Upper IVth to be called to pick up. But those who were then called the Upper IVth are now named Under Vth, & thus a whole form (nearly 20 fellows) become exempt from picking up, wh. was quite contrary to the spirit of the rules. I proposed the clause about the eleven & eight being exempt from picking up because (as will be seen by looking back to the above mentioned article) the whole question about picking up was raised by a fellow in the eleven being tanned for refusing to pick up. Some people say that I have not stuck up sufficiently for the T. B. in this matter, but I have done what I thought my duty in keeping things as they were, never, since the School began, have more than two forms fagged among the Town Boys, & I do not see why it should be broken through now, when we are only 130 strong. As to my taking away the Under Remove’s priviledges I say, that though their fagging was winded at it was never formally acknowledged, & therefore could not be taken away.

E. R. Dowdeswell

Prin. Opp.

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