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in my opinion, should be sufficient reason for the Council 

 to negative the proposition, as we ought not to study the 

 members as large or small exhil)itors, but simply as 

 exhibitors, and the medals should be granted only on 

 the understanding that all members of the Club 

 exhibiting, should at least have a fair chance of winning 

 them. 



If the object of the proposal is to induce members, 

 who are small exhibitors, to send more birds to a Show — 

 sufficient to compete with a fair chance of success — 

 well and good ; but, for various reasons, most members 

 are unable to exhibit as largely as they would perhaps 

 like. Are they to be practically debarred from the com- 

 petition on that account ? 



The argument that there can be no "best" bird 

 among several bests, is surely rather weak, and seems 

 dealing with words in their literal, and merely gram- 

 matical sense. The large exhibitor always has a better 

 chance of success, even by our present method, than 

 has the small exhibitor: it is only a matter of simple 

 proportion. 



Again, if the proposal becomes law, the competing 

 element will, to a very large extent, be eliminated, and 

 the result in most cases will be quite a foregone 

 conclusion. I will undertake to name the winners of 

 our medals when offered at our London Shows (and also 

 at some of the country ones), before the judging takes 

 place, if I were shown the list of exhibitors — aye, and in 

 some cases without seeing it, for large exhibitors do not 

 spring up in a night like mushrooms. 



Agreeing, as we all must, with the proposer's remark, 

 that " it is not our duty to consider the individual but 

 the many," and recognising that large exhibitors are 

 greatly in the minority, I cannot but hope that the 

 Council will consider the interests of the members 

 generally, before the interests of those favoured few who 

 are able to exhibit to their heart's content. 



J. A. vSWAN. 



