13315. (Chairman) You are Rev. James Whittock, of Rhondda? - Yes.

13316. You are the honorary secretary of the South Wales Primitive Methodist District Committee? - Yes.

[What then followed was a lenghty discourse on the history and work of the Connexion - quotes that follow are from the written statement which was published in full in the Appendix]

13397. Now we come to your work in South Wales......'In 1848 the Bristol district was formed, which included all the circuits in South Wales.....In 1888 all the circuits on the Welsh side of the river Severn were formed into a separate district.....'

13399. 'Work in the Rhondda Valley.- The Rhondda Valley was missioned by ministers and local preachers from the Aberdare circuit over 40 years ago. For some time services were conducted on the mountain sides and hired rooms. The first chapel was built at Llwynypia in the year 1873, and seven or eight other chapels were built in rapid succession; the cost of these undertakings caused several of the societies much embarrassment and trouble, but within the last 12 years the state of the funds has much improved. In the year 1893 the societies in the Rhondda together with those at Gilfach Goch and Pontycymmer were formed into a separate station. I submit two sets of tables, one showing in part the state of the societies in 1900(Table 6) and the other (Table 7) taken from the reports for the year ended 1905. The number of members that appear in the tables is the approved members of the church, and agree with the numbers printed in the minutes of Conference for each year. Besides these we have in each society members on trial and young people meeting in junior classes and Christian Endevour Society classes not included in the numbers given. I have taken the chapel accounts from the chapel schedules which were submitted through the circuit quarterly meeting to the district meeting chapel committee, and signed by the chairman and secretary for each year. The number of hearers reported is the number of average Sunday night congregation in each place.' That is quite so.

[These tables are only summary tables. A separate table for 1905 for the Rhondda circuit, also prepared, is reproduced at right]

13400. That includes something like what has been included in the word 'adherents,' does it not? - No, we have more adherents than we show as hearers, because, of course, those that profess to be Primitive Methodists do not all attend at the same time. There is always a number not present at any service, and hence we have a larger number than we return as hearers in my table who reckon themselves Primitive Methodists. On special occasions we can fill our chapels with those who reckon that they belong to our connexion in some way, if not as members as adherents, but in my tables I have simply given those that attend as an average congregation on Sunday night in each case.

13401. Some of those might be members and some not? - Yes.

13494. How do you get the number of hearers? - It is an estimate. We never reckon to count heads, but we estimate the number in each case.

13495. Can you tell me how you form an estimate at all? - Those best able to judge are responsible for those figures that are published every year.

13496. Who is best able to judge? - The leaders and officials in each society.

13497. Better than the minister or local preacher? - The minister would have a good chance, of course.

13498. Where do the leaders sit? There is a thing called the big seat? - We have not that.

13499. Where do the leaders sit in the chapel? - They have their own seat.

13500. In what part of the chapel? - They have choice of place.

13501. They do not sit under the pulpit?- No.

13502. They are not able to see the chapel so well? - No.

13508. Tonypandy is a Welsh place? - Strongly Welsh.

13509. There are a good many bi-linguals there-duolglots? - Yes.

13510. Do you speak Welsh? -No.

13511. Not at all? - No.

13512. Have you any chapels in which the Welsh language is used for services? - No.

13513. Not anywhere? - No, all English

13593. I suppose that with your English speaking congregations in the Rhondda your chapels are more or less used by immigrant colliers, who come in when trade is good, and go away when it is bad? - There is a lot of that going on

13594. Therefore, if you find one year better, and one year worse than another, does that not indicate at all neccessarily that Primitive Methodism is more or less in force; it means that the coal trade is good? - Yes, that is right; we all know about that.