When the minister is supposedly ringing a bell. The rope he's pulling on doesn't move up and down. The bell is a loud one and therefore would have to be a good sized one. And the process of tolling such a bell would mean that the action of the bell would require the bell move the rope up a foot or more, and down a foot or more. The actor appears to be just simulating the action. He actually causes some slack in the rope when the rope is on the up-stroke.
At the end of the episode, Houdini, Doyle, and Adelaide are standing at the stern of a ship with the US and Great Britain flying flags in the background. You can see there is a wire or line attached to the US flag to help make it appear it is waving in the breeze caused by the ship's movement.