26 PKOGEEDIlN'GcJ AT CiEXEliAL MEEII^^GIS. 



eight Show districts shall every year, before the 10th of October, send to the Secretaiy 

 the name of a member to act as an Ordinary Director, and their recommendation shall 

 have due weight given to it by the Board of Directors in the preparation of the list 

 Avhich it submits to the Society for election at the general meeting. Regulations for 

 the purpose shall be framed by the Board." He should have liked very much, and 

 he thought it would have thro\^ai light on the subject, if they had had these regula- 

 tions now before them. It would, perhaps, have given them to understand— if this 

 motion was to be adopted- -how it was to be carried out. It was a very simple pro- 

 posal, leaving it open to each individual member of the Society to select from the 

 whole body of the Society and nominate any one he pleased, and afterwards giving 

 due intimation in the newspapers. But if they were to restrict this and confine the 

 selection to districts, he did not know how the' mind of the districts was to be ascer- 

 tained. If it were done by voting-papers, it would cause a considerable amount of 

 trouble and expense ; if by representatives, then in each of these districts there were 

 several local societies, some large and some small. Would these representatives be 

 on an equal footing i or would it practically come to this, that the nomination would 

 fall into the hands of a few gentlemen who took an interest in the matter ; and pro- 

 bably these gentlemen might be altogether members of the same local society ? Then 

 if they had a nomination from each of these local societies, how was the matter to be 

 -dealt with ? Not differently from what it was at present. They had at present nomin- 

 ations in the wide-spread area of all the districts ; these came before the Directors, 

 who at present exercised their opinion in the same way as it was asked in this motion, 

 and selected members from the various districts. But from experience he could say 

 that, considering the number of meetings the Directors had to attend in Edinburgh — 

 eight of them annually, besides a great number of committee meetings— he had found 

 that on many occasions it was difficult to go on with business, from the circumstance 

 that there was not a quorum present. The spirit and true intention of Mr. Scott 

 Dudgeon's motion, as he understood it, was that in four years the Board of Directors 

 would consist of four members from each of these districts arbitrarily. But if at pre- 

 sent, with a prepouderence of members living iu the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, and 

 within easy access of Edinburgh, it was difficult to find a quorum, it would be impos- 

 sible a quorum could be got if the members were more widely spread. They had 

 representatives from the northern districts of the Society's operations, highly worthy 

 men ; but if they multiplied them aul the preponderance of the area went beyond 

 Edinburgh, then he said they should reduce the quorum from seven to two or three, or 

 the business would come to a dead-lock. If that were done, it would come to this, 

 that the business of the Society, make any election they liked of Directors, would be 

 carried on necessarily by those within easy access of Edinburgh. The hour of meeting 

 was one or half-past one, to suit the farmers going to the market ; but in about an hour 

 after gentlemen began to drojD away, and before the business of the meeting was 

 ended, there was, perhaps, a bare quorum present. Mr. Scott Dudgeon's motion might 

 have a popular sound about it ; but he thought it was still more popular to leave the 

 selection to be made from the whole Society, rather than by the dividing of it into 

 districts. If there was anything that would popularise and benefit the Society, he for 

 one was sure every one would heartily go in with it ; but what was proposed by the 

 amendment was only what was so in appearance, and not in reality or practical 

 working. 



Mr. Maxtone Graham of Cultoquhey seconded the motion. 



Mr. Scott Dudgeon, Longnewton, who was received with applause, said that 

 as a Director of the Society he felt himself in rather a peculiar position in. 

 having to move an amendment to a recommendation coming from the Board of 

 Directors. As convener of the committee to which this question was refeired, 

 naturally his duty would have been to move the adoption of the report. But, 

 imfortunately, the Board had, by a narrow majority, rejected a most important part 

 of the alteration which that committee recommended — one which he considered by 

 far the most important, and which xerj much nullified all the others, because it 

 was the one upon which all the others were based. Such being the case, he felt 

 himself obliged to take the course he now did, and by bringing the matter before this 

 general meeting give the members of the Society an opportunity of expressing their 

 opinion upon it. As they were all aware, considerable dissatisfaction had for many 

 years been expressed — and with much justice he thought — that the management of 

 the Society had been of too exclusive a nature ; that a certain proportion of the mem- 

 bers of the Society, for the most part in and near Edinburgh, had almost entirely 

 monopolised the conduct of the Society. No imputation did he mean to cast on these 

 gentlemen. He believed they had acted in the most attentive and energetic manner to 

 promote the best interests of the Society, but members in other parts of the country 

 had naturally felt dissatisfied with tliis arrangement. In a national Society, visiting as 

 it did every district in Scotland, and having for its object the interests of agriculture 

 throughout the wliole country, and being supported by the subscriptions of individuals 



