bally was repeatedly elected member of the administrative council of the sephardic community, and there maintained himself as a champion of reform. he had the statutes amended so as to permit a fairer representation, introduced the distribution of clothing and shoes to poor children, projected a series of reforms for the talmud-torah (1863), which later became a modern school, established a free-loan institution (1860), and a society for free medical attendance (1872). he found time withal for literary pursuits, and left behind him many manuscripts in judæo-spanish.