28 PEOCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS. 



the troulDle or be at the expense of attending the meetings of the Boai'd. But he had 

 yet to learn that Directors at the greatest distance from Edinljurgh had hitherto at- 

 tended to the duties of their office less efficiently than those residing in or very near to it. 

 Distances were now very different from what tlaey were when this ancient Society was 

 instituted and its charter obtained. Besides, out of the eight districts into which the 

 Society divides itself for Show purposes, five of these are — none of them more than — 

 two hours' ride by rail from Edinburgh — viz., Kelso, Edinburgh, Stirling, Glasgow, 

 and Perth ; while portions of the districts of other two— viz., Dumfries and Aberdeen — 

 were not a great deal further removed ; so that there was really only one district — 

 viz., that of Inverness — which w^as not at any very inconvenient distance. But there 

 was nothing in the by-law to prevent the members in the Inverness district, if so- 

 minded, to nominate as their representatives individuals residing within an accessible 

 distance from Edinburgh, gentlemen in whom they had confidence, and whom they 

 knew Avould look after their interests. Another objection taken to the by-law, and 

 this he considered much the most weighty one, was that by it members had no 

 guarantee that even if they made nominations these should be approved by the Board, 

 and should be recommended for election at the general meeting. This was, doubtless, 

 true ; but he thought there could be no doubt that if members in the different districts 

 showed a real interest in the matter, and with any unanimity nominate representatives, 

 neither would the Board itself dare to ignore their choice, nor would the general meet- 

 ing fail to confirm it. By the adoption of the by-law he confidently believed that, to 

 all intents and purposes, the election of all Ordinary Directors would be found to have 

 fallen absolutely into the hands of the members themselves. In conclusion, he would 

 merely say that the whole question was given the utmost attention to by the com- 

 mittee, which carefully considered it in all its aspects, and with great unanimity agreed 

 to the terms of the by-law, as that which, without violating the spirit or the words of 

 the charter, would " ensure the best representation of the Avhole membership of the 

 Society on its Board of Management." Perhaps he should say that some members of 

 the committee were disposed to have thrown the election out and out into the hands 

 of members in the difl'erent districts ; not only asking them to nominate, but asking 

 them to elect, without the possibility of reversal by the Board or by the general meet- 

 ing. Lord Reay, who gave great attention to the subject and lent valuable assistance 

 in drawing up the new by-laws, was among these. His Lordship, he regretted, was 

 unable to be present that day, but he had written to him stating that he endorsed his 

 (Mr. Scott Dudgeon's) view, and was prepared for greater changes, which his Lordship 

 believed were not only allowed, but required by the observance of the terms of the 

 charter. He left the matter with the utmost confidence in the hands of that large 

 meeting, feeling that he at any rate harl done his duty as a Director and as Convener of 

 the Committee which considered the question, in giving the members of the Society an 

 • ojjportunity of expressing their views on this important question. 



Mr. BxVLLiNGALL, Dunbog, seconded the amendment, and while admitting that in' 

 the past the Directors had animated by a desire to do their duty, maintained that 

 hitherto the most numerous body of the membership — tenant-farmers — had not had 

 anything like adequate representation at the Board. 



Commander Stewart said that, as they were aware, the next Show of the Society 

 was to be held in Glasgow, and in Argyllshire for some time they had been anxious to 

 get a member on the Board of Directors. The name of the president of one of their 

 local societies was sent in, but no notice was taken of it. He wished them to notice 

 that there was not a Director from the county of Argyll, although the Show was to be 

 held in Glasgow. 



The Rev. John Gillespie, Mouswald, said that, as he cordially concurred in the 

 particular by-law which the Directors rejected by a narrow majority, he Avould give 

 one or two reasons why he supported the amendment of Mr Scott Dudgeon. He had 

 analysed the list of Directors for the last year, and he had done so with the greatest 

 possible care. He had taken tl:e eight Show districts as the basis, and he found that 

 Edinburgh last year had 9 of the Directors ; Kelso, 6 ; Dumfries, 3 ; Glasgow, 2| ; 

 Stirling, IJ ; Aberdeen, 1 ; and Inverness, 1. Three Show districts — Edinljurgh, Kelso, 

 and Perth — last year had 21 out of 30 Directors, and if they added the three members 

 from the district of Dumfries, that made 24 for four districts. Glasgow, Stirling, Aber- 

 deen, and Inverness were thus left with the miserable representation of 6. He had also 

 made an analysis for the last ten years, from which it appeared that Edinljurgh had 11 "3, 

 and thus it had nearly an average of 38 per cent, on the whole. One year there were 

 as few as 8, but in another 15, or one-half of the whole. Kelso had 4*2 ; Perth, 3'9 ; 

 Glasgow, 3"1| ; Stirling, 272; Aberdeen, 2*4; Dumfries, 17; and Inverness, 0"6. 

 That satisfied him as a member of the committee that some change was necessary — 

 that something ought to be done to give the different districts of the Society something 

 like a more equal, if not an absolutely equal, representation on the Board of Directors. 

 He did not think that there was any ground for the expense that Mr Smith supposed 

 would be incurred through the proposed charge. 



