36 PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS. 



ou this occasion ; Ijiit I was instructed to inform you that should anything of the sort 

 occur again, or anj' other of the Society's regulations he contravened, you will be held 

 answerable, whether the breach of the rules has been the act of your servants or of 

 others, so long as your animals are in the showyard, and that the regulations will be 

 strictly adhered to. I enclose a copy of the regulations, and beg to draw your atten- 

 tion to rules 12 and 27. — Yours faithfully, (Signed) F. N. Menzies." 



Mr CowE, Balhousie, wished to ask the directors if they had not had their attention 

 drawn to a case of false entry ? 



The nolile Chairman said that that question was entirely out of order. If Mr 

 Eiddell liad anything to say on the case they would be happy to hear liim, but it was 

 out of order to take up any case that had nothing to do with Mr Riddell's. 



Mr Smith, Whittinghame — It would be desirable for the meeting to hear the reply 

 Mr Riddell gave in writing. 



Mr Menzies — There was no reply to the last letter. The reply Mr Eiddell formerly 

 sent was ; — 



" BlackhaU Farm, Paisley, 10th Nov. 1879. 



" Dear Sir, — Your note to hand regarding a rej^ort to the directors of hair being 

 placed ou my filly's fore leg, 519 in catalogue. I may tell you I deny it most emphati- 

 cally, to my knowledge. I have been making inquiry at all my servants, and they 

 .say if it was, it was not done with them ; neither did they see any one do it, nor even 

 the two credible witnesses taking it out. Perhaps you will give me the names of the 

 two parties that alleged doing so. — I am, faitlilully j-ours, 



(Signed) " D. Eiddell." 



The noble Chairman said he was very sorry it should have been necessary to lay 

 this correspondence before the meeting, and he quite concurred in what the dii ectors 

 thought riglit to do, because they gave Mr Riddell the benefit of any doubt as to wlieu 

 this false hair was ^lut on. But he thought it was absolutely necessary that exhibitors 

 should understand that when anything was found wrong and not straightforward, they 

 must be held responsible for the doings of those under their control. This was 

 not a case at all of wishing to fine anybody who had clone wrong ; but they must 

 remember that in a case of this kind, if anji;hlng was wrong, it was not tlie 

 advantage it did to the ■^Tongdoer that was most to be considered, but the disadvan- 

 tage it did to the other exhibitors. As Mr Eiddell said he did not Icnow that what 

 was complained of had been done, he took it for granted that he did not, but the evil 

 effects of what liad been done must have been felt by others who might have had the 

 prize in its place. Therefore, he only wished to call the attention of exhibitors to this, 

 that they must in future consider themselves resj)onsible for the state of their animals 

 during the whole time they were in the show, and that all the rules of the Society must 

 be jjut in force. 



Sir- WiLLLVM Baillie of Polkemmet, said he should like to say, as an old member of 

 the Society, that he thought the directors in this case had come to a ^-ery hajjpy and 

 very kind verdict. 



The subject then dropped. 



The Exibition of Poultry. — The Hon. George Waldegraye Leslie moved — 

 " That it is desiralile at future shows of the Highland Society to dispense with the 

 exhibition of poultry, &c. ; and to make arrangements with the Edinburgh Christmas 

 Club for the exhibition of poultry, &c., at their annual shows in December, when the 

 poultry are in full feather," &c., &c. In sujiporting the motion, he said he believed it 

 was patent to all that jioultry were not in good condition to be exhibited at the time 

 the Society's shows were held, and that it would be better that the exhibition should 

 take place in the month of December, at the Edinburgh Christmas Club Show, -when 

 the poultry were in good feather and foruL He thought it would be desirable to see if 

 the Society could not make an-angemeuts for the exhibition being held then, instead of 

 at the show of the Highland and Agricultural Society. 



Sir JoHX Do.\ Wauchope, in seconding the motion, said — that it was to a large 

 extent throwing away money to give premiums as at present. 



Admiral Maitland Dougall said that he would not like to cut any of the roots 

 that went to make the Highland and Agricultural Society's Shows poi^ular. They 

 were indebted to the active mind of Mr Leslie for many improvements, but this 

 motion was entirely in the wrong direction. It was not every one who could compete 

 at the Society's shows with shorthorns or horses, and to take away the opportimity of 

 competing in the poultry department was very inadvisable. At the time of the show 

 all the youug birds were in excellent plumage, and it was oidy a tertain proportion of 

 the birds that were not in good condition. He preferred to have the poultry shows 

 outside rather than in drill halls or other jilaces where the light was bad, and where it 

 was extremely ditficult to carry on the judging in a proper manner. He thought that, 

 considering the importance of poultry as an article of food for the people, instead of 

 their doing anytliing to stop the exhibition, they ouglit to give it a little more encour- 

 agement. Besides, a great many ladies took an interest in the poultry dejiartment, and 



