• PEOCEEDINGS AND REPORTS. 18& 



President Chamberlain, Messrs. Hanford, Lessiter, Sharp, Hyde, Reed, 

 Burrington, Wood, Turner, Shoemaker, J. P. Angel, Howard, Young, But- 

 terfield, Anderson, Phillips, Parsons and the Secretary. 



The President then read his address as follows : 



PRESIDENT chamberlain's ADDRESS. 



Gentlemen of the Executive Committee of the State Agricultural Society : 



We are convened in our regular winter session to consider the needs of the 

 Society, and devise ways and means to promote its future usefulness. At 

 the last winter meeting it was decided that the time had come when the 

 Society should have a permanent location for holding its annual Fairs. A 

 committee of five was selected to take the necessary steps toward securing 

 this location. The committee received proposals from Detroit, Lansing, 

 Jackson, and Kalamazoo, offering to donate land and money provided the 

 Fair should be located permanently at some one of these places. Such 

 favorable offers were made by Jackson and Lansing I deemed it advisable to 

 call the Executive Committee together to consider the propositions, so that 

 if possible a permanent location might be selected by you in time for holding 

 the last Fair. The report of the committee was presented to you without 

 recommendation from the fact that, on examination of Article Five of the 

 constitution under which the Society was organized, it was found that the 

 Executive Committee had no power to permanently locate the Fair. A vote 

 was, however, taken on the two propositions to see if a choice could be 

 reached, but neither proposition received a majority and no choice was indi- 

 cated. While we thus failed to secure the object sought, the fact was demon- 

 strated that the permanent location of the Fair is considered of sufficient 

 importance to induce several cities of the State to offer substantial aid to 

 secure its permanent location, and had we not been barred by the article 

 referred to, I think the question would have been decided at that meeting. 



The necessity of securing a permanent location for the Fair still exists, 

 and I recommend that steps be taken immediately to secure such legislation 

 as may be needed to empower the Society, through its Executive Committee, 

 to locate permanently the place for holding its annual Fairs. When this 

 power is secured, which it is believed is of vital importance to the Society, 

 the question will present itself squarely before us : How shall the Society 

 secure the funds necessary to place it on a safe financial basis, and what 

 policy shall it adopt to sustain its present position among the leading agri- 

 cultural societies of the country, and continue to be the State Agricultural 

 Society, recognized as such by the people of the State, and holding its proper 

 place among the other agricultural societies of the State? Other societies 

 have been organized and pushed forward by the enterprise of those having 

 them in charge until they are not only strong competitors with each other, but 

 strive to rival even the State Society. And during the past few years, when 

 the State Fair has been held at any one of the places selected, a disposition 

 has been shown by some to carry the idea that it was a local fair, held simply 

 to benefit the place where located, rather than the people at large. The 

 Society early adopted a liberal policy towards its exhibitors, and has con- 

 tinued to pay liberal premiums, and furnish every facility necessary or possi- 

 ble to encourage agriculture and its kindred arts throughout the State. But 



