54 1RANSACTI0NS OF THE 



ment. How much the course of this society, through its officers, has 

 had to do in bringing about this general improvement in the affairs of 

 the industries of the State, we will leave the members of the society and 

 the business men of the State to judge. We have felt the responsibility 

 of the position we have held, and have endeavored to do our duty to the 

 people and to the State. As in the conduct of all human affairs, time 

 has been with us the great teacher, showing us frequently where errors 

 have been committed in the past, and suggesting improvements for the 

 future. 



Since we have been charged with a part in the management of the 

 affairs of the society, it has been struggling with pecuniary and other 

 difficulties, which have to a great extent controlled the policy and directed 

 the course of that management; and in judging of the administration of 

 its affairs it must be remembered that we have always been under the 

 necessity of doing what, under the circumstances, could be done, rather 

 than what, under other circumstances, should have been done. When, 

 in eighteen hundred and sixty-three and eighteen hundred and sixty- 

 four, a majority of the present Board accepted the positions they now 

 fill, it was difficult to find any one in the community who would accept 

 of the position and undertake the performance of the thankless duties 

 involved. Nothing but the very straightened circumstances of the 

 society at that time, and the limited influence it was able to exert upon 

 the industries of the State, induced the members of the Board to accept 

 the positions which were then urged upon them, and they did so with 

 the distinct understanding — among themselves, at least — that they would 

 stand by each other, circumstances permitting, until the last obligation 

 of the society was discharged, and until the society was able to exert 

 that controlling influence over the industrial pursuits of the State that 

 its original founders intended it should. 



The first of these conditions would have been wholly fulfilled before 

 the present meeting, but for the damage done to the buildings at the 

 Park by the unusually high winds of last winter, rendering it necessary 

 to expend a large amount of money for the repairs thus made requisite. 

 By an analysis of the disbursements of the present } T ear, it will be found 

 that over three thousand dollars was laid out on these repairs, while the 

 whole of the present indebtedness of the society is three thousand one 

 hundred and thirty-four dollars. The receipts of the last fair were very 

 large — amounting in all, for the year, to twenty-seven thousand one 

 hundred and seven dollars and fifteen cents, while the expenditures were 

 also very large, being, to date, twenty-seven thousand one hundred and 

 seven dollars and fifteen cents, including four hundred and seventy-five 

 dollars and thirty-three cents paid on the old indebtedness. 



The last fair was continued ten days, but we would not recommend 

 the continuance of this custom in the future. Such a custom would, in 

 our opinion, not be for the interests of the society in a financial point of 

 view, and, so Long continued, the interest in the exhibition lags. 



We would call the attention of the members to the provisions of the 

 Constitution in reference to the privileges of members. As the Consti- 

 tution now reads, any member has free access to all the exhibitions of 

 the society, " accompanied by the ladies and children of his family." 

 Under this provision, many well-meaning members think it no wrong to 

 consider all his friends and their children members of his family for the 

 purpose of going to the fair, and by this very liberal construction of this 

 provision the society is deprived of a very great income each year, to 

 which it is properly entitled. To obviate this difficulty we would recom- 



