196 



JOUENAL OP HOaTICULTORE AXD COTTAGE GARDENER. 



( March 11, 1875. 



misioners as wonld enable us to enter into friendly and equable 

 relations with them. We heard from them from time to time 

 that when we made ourselves a legal Council they would (and 

 I enter not now into the question whether we were a legal 

 Council or not) be prepared to treat with us on an equal basis. 

 I have now read to you the dispatch of the Commissioners, that 

 the action taken on the 0th of February has made us a legal 

 Council, and that they are prepared to deal with us upon an 

 equal basis. The one object, therefore, which we had to discuss 

 at the last meeting of the Society ha'i been fulfilled as far as the 

 Council is concerned. We felt, gentlemen, that we were bound 

 not to divert the attention of the Fellows from that one main 

 object which will be attained as soon as the Report is adopted 

 by trailing a red herring across your path. Of course, in human 

 affairs you cannot find a large body of men to be of one mind 

 without discussion. If we had submitted any proposal to you 

 in the Report, the chances are your attention would be diverted 

 to the details of that proposal — that you would have discussion 

 on them instead of pursuing the main object for which we have 

 met. When you have passed this Report, gentlemen, you will 

 be in smooth water as far as the Commissioners are concerned. 

 Without doing that you cannot be in smooth water, and you will 

 be going headlong to ruin [hear, hear]. Pass this Report which 

 commits you to nothing. The Report was purposely drawn so 

 that you could vote for the main object we have in view — viz., 

 to land this Society, as regards the Royal Commissioners, in a 

 position of legality which it has not heretofore assumed. I 

 hope, gentlemen, I have made this point clear to you, and I 

 conclude by placing before you for your consideration the 

 Report upon the table [cheers]. 



Dr. Masters. — WiU you kindly say by whom the letter of the 

 Commissioners is signed? 



The Ch.ubman.— By " Henry Scott, Major-General." Is there 

 any objection in the body of the hall to the adoption of the 

 Report ? 



Mr. Dolman remarked that Her Majesty's Commissioners are 

 not disinclined to come to terms or to a satisfactory under- 

 standing. He should like to know in what particular way was 

 that about to be arrived at. 



The Chaibman. — It would be premature for us to express any 

 opinion on that point. There are members of the Royal Com- 

 mission here present who can speak on the point if it is thought 

 advisable to do so. As we shall not meet the Commissioners 

 until the Report is adopted, I am not in a position to answer the 

 question. 



Mr. Andrew Murray. — Why should you not meet the Com- 

 missioners until the Report is adopted ? 



The Chairman. — Because this meeting is incomplete until the 

 adoption of the Report. We are not now in the position of ab- 

 solute legality which we shall be in when the Report is adopted. 

 Mr. Murray. — I thought the Report was received. 

 Mr. Ch.aibman. — The meeting is not yet over, and the Report 

 has not been yet adopted. 



Mr. Doljian. — What about the skating rink? Has it been 

 assented to by the Commissioners 1 



The Ch-iirjian. — We have only had a private correspondence 

 on the subject. 



A Fellow. — We ought to have some definite assurance whether 

 the proposition as to the skatiug rink is to be carried out or not 

 [hear, hear]. 



The Chairman.— The Council has no definite assurance to 

 give you on that point. 



Mr. GuEDELLA said he had no wish to throw the apple of dis- 

 cord into the meeting, but wished to express his opinion that 

 there had been an extraordinary change of opinion amongst 

 all parties to these transactions. In the first place, the opinion 

 of the Commissioners appeared to have changed very much 

 after they got the opinion of counsel, which they could have 

 obtained long ago [a laugh]. Then, what change was it that 

 had come over the gentlemen sitting at the Board ? With the 

 exception of two gentlemen who had manfnlly stuck to principles 

 and sent in their resignations the Board had adopted a peaceable 

 line of action, and he should like to know some of the circum- 

 stances which induced these gentlemen to come down at the 

 eleventh hour with a change of policy. Then came the question 

 whether the members of the Council were the gentlemen who 

 could conclude the best arrangement with Her Majesty's Com- 

 missioners — whether they were the proper people to carry out 

 the arrangements for the benefit of the Society [hear, hear]. 

 He certainly thought the present Council should have exercised 

 more spirit since they came into ofiice. There was one of the 

 finest conservatories in the world on their premises, and if they 

 had a ball in it they could have made £2500 by it [" no " and 

 laughter]. He thought the skating rink was one of the most 

 advantageous specrJatious that could be made. His object was 

 to rouse the Council from their state of inaction. He regretted 

 the resignations of the two members of Council, and should 

 like to know what were the reasons for them — whether it was a 

 firm adherence to policy and principle that prevented them 

 remaining in the Council ? 



The Rev. C. P. Peach said he had been asked to propose the 

 following resolution or amendment : — " That the Chairman be 

 requested further to adjourn the Annual General Meeting, so 

 that the Council may be able to present to that adjourned 

 meeting, witli their Report, any scheme they may be able to 

 enter into with Her Majesty's Commissioners." The reverend 

 gentleman said it was quito necessary the meeting should be 

 adjourned in order to see what agreement could be entered into 

 between the Council and Her Majesty's Commissioners [cries of 

 "no, no."]. At the last meeting the Chairman said the legality 

 of the Council was granted, and immediately afterwards he 

 tried to force the Fellows to accept the Report by saying that 

 unless they did so the legality of the Council would not be 

 obtained. He could not see how the legality of the Council 

 could be recognised by Her Majesty's Commissioners when an 

 attempt was made to force the Fellows to accept the Report. 

 There was another question which had not been brought before 

 them, and that was the question of the provincial shows. No- 

 thing in the Report showed there was any attempt being made 

 to get up provincial shows in the interest of horticulture [cries 

 of " question "]. |Their President said he was neither a local nor 

 a horticultural Fellow [no, no]. Surely this was a horticultural 

 Society, and surely horticulture ought to be considered first by 

 the Society in all its bearings. He appealed to all horticulturists 

 present whether it would not be of advantage to adjourn the meet- 

 ing [cries of "yes" and "no"] in order to come to some definite 

 arrangement and see where they stood. At present they were,, 

 financially speaking, in a condition bordering on bankruptcy. 

 He did not want to reject the Report in any way, but he wished 

 the meeting to be adjourned to see what arrangement could be 

 come to. 

 Mr. LiGGiNs remarked that the Report had not been seconded. 

 The Chairman. — No, and for this reason : Our bye-laws say 

 that after the Report has been read the consideration of other 

 business may be proceeded with. A legal question arises whether 

 it means the proposal of the Report for adoption. Technically 

 it does not. Practically we hold to our Report, and any amend- 

 ment carried against it we should consider as a vote of want of 

 confidence. 

 Mr. LiGGiNS. — Precisely so. 



The Chairman. — We are bound by our bye-laws, so that I 

 move that the Report be considered. 



Mr. QuiLTER rose to second the amendment, which he con- 

 sidered a most reasoaable one. When he saw the onslaught 

 that had been made two years ago on the then existing Council 

 — so much so as to cause them to resign [a voice, "They were 

 turned out."]. Well, he believed they would have helped the 

 Society out of its difficulties. After having refused all reason- 

 able propositions from Her Majesty's Commissioners the Council 

 had done nothing that day but consider everything that was- 

 adverse to horticulture instead of what would encourage it [cries 

 of "no" and "yes."]. The statement of the Council would 

 prove it. First of all they gave up the provincial shows which 

 produced a good annual income, and next they curtailed the 

 privileges of the members [hear, hear]. Nest year the shows 

 were curtailed, and the result was that the Society's funds were 

 far worse now than they were then — indeed the funds were some- 

 thing like £1500 worse now than they were two years ago. 

 Under these circumstances before they passed the Report they 

 ought to have something like a scheme before them to show 

 them the way out of the difficulties in which they were placed. 

 The Chairman told them that if they passed the Report they 

 would be landed in smooth water, but he could not speak with 

 any certainty, and so they might be in worse water than they 

 ever were before. The exhibitors had not been paid prizes 

 which ought to have been paid out of last year's revenue. He 

 supposed the Council had been waiting to receive as much of 

 the Fellows' money as they could [no]. At the last meeting 

 they heard in that room that the Commissioners were willing- 

 to meet the Fellows on fair terms, and certainly the Fellows had 

 aright to know what these terms were [hear, hear]. If the 

 meeting did not insist upon that information and passed the 

 Report they would leave the matter in the hands of the same 

 gentlemen who had landed the Society in its present position 

 [no, no]. The proposition he made was not an unreasonable 

 one ; it would not stultify the Council in any way, but on the 

 contrary, strengthen their hands. There was amongst the 

 Fellows a vast difference oE opinion as to whether it was advan- 

 tageous to the Society to keep these gardens in their possession. 

 The Chairman told them he did not think the Commissioners 

 wished to have the gardens. Who did wish to have them under 

 existing circumstances? [hear, hear]. He, for one, did nob 

 want to see the gardens done away with, but he felt sure there 

 were means to be adopted by which the Society might be re- 

 lieved from that necessity, and the gardens kept-ou as well as 

 ever. A Fellow asked him the expense of keeping-up the band. 

 Well, they were told the band was to be discontinued for three 

 months — September, October, and November, but they really 

 ought not to have a band at all unless they had got money to pay 

 it. He begged and entreated the Fellows to vote — not for the 



