May 27, 1875. 1 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



405 



OommissionerB to entertain onr proposals. That is a question 

 I do not think it is now opportune to enter upon, because it will 

 come up for discussion hereafter. I merely state the fact with- 

 out prejudice to either party, and state it imputing blame to 

 none [hear, hear]. We thought we would be in a position to 

 give you definite information as to the future maiuteuauce and 

 conduct of the Society at this time, and under that impression 

 ■we called this Meeting together. In the meantime we have 

 received what we consider the definite answer of the Oommis- 

 sionerB . 



A Fellow. — When 1 



The Chaibh.vn. — About seven or eight days ago, but Boou 

 afterwards in that outside intimate conversation in which 

 business is more often done than in more formal meetings, we 

 understood Her Majesty's Commissioners did not fully com- 

 prehend the meaning of a part of our last proposal, and that it 

 ■was not at all probable they might come to any decision. Gen. 

 Scott was good enough to attend the last Meeting of our Council, 

 about a week ago, and we then found the opinion of Her 

 Majesty's Commissioners as to our last proposal was such as 

 that a little longer time would bring us face to face with Her 

 Majesty's Commissioners. I offer no opinion upon this, but, 

 iov my own part, I should feel more pleased if my honourable 

 friends at the Council board and myself could say we had done 

 all we could and that we resigned our trust into your hands 

 [hear, hear]. But, the circumstances of the case being as 

 they are, Her Majesty's Commissioners having before them 

 the explanations we thought it our duty to lay before them, 

 and not having received an answer to our communication, all 

 we can ask of you is to adjourn this Meeting. We feel that 

 ten days hence will be ample time for us to receive a definite 

 reply from Her Majesty's Commissioners. I must point out, 

 in justice to Her Majesty's Oommiseioners that during the 

 Whitsuntide holidays " one man was gone to his farm and 

 another to his merchandise," and so it was not altogether 

 possible for them to assemble together. However, as far as that 

 goes Her Majesty's Commissioners were not to blame [hear, 

 bear]. At the same time I cannot help saying it is very unfor- 

 , tunate for the Society that we should be hung up in suspense 

 [hear, hear] , and I speak for myself and for my colleagues on the 

 Council when I say that, should we be so unfortunate as not to 

 be able to announce to you that a definite arrangement with 

 Her Majesty's Commissioners has been made, we feel it our 

 duty to place ourselves unreservedly in your hands, and ask 

 you to take such action as may seem to you good in the 

 matter [applause]. I really think I have little farther to add 

 «xcept this, that if on the present occasion you will take my 

 advice, given perhaps for the last time — and I assure you it 

 ■is given after due deliberation and consultation with my col- 

 leagues — you will refrain from discussion on the position of the 

 Society at this moment [hear, hear]. It could not further the 

 objects we have in view to raise discussions which probably it 

 ■would be difficult to answer at this moment, and I therefore 

 invite you to pass, if you will permit me to say it, suh silsntio 

 the motion with which I shall conclude — that the Meeting be 

 adjourned for ten days. There is one other word which I ought 

 to say, and that is, our financial position has been greatly ex- 

 aggerated. When we took office our debts — and I wiU not now 

 enter particularly into figures — were very much larger thau they 

 are now. The amount of our debts has been steadily diminished 

 under our exertions [hear, hear] ; but I regret to tell you that 

 very unpleasant action has been taken against our Society by 

 persons from whom I think our Society ought to have looked for 

 better treatment. Everyone here is aware that our funds have 

 been falling off daring the last two or three years, and everyone 

 is equally aware we have been obliged to postpone the payment 

 of the prizes granted in former years ; of course I mean, as 

 you can well understand, in last year. Well, certain gentlemen 

 having made arrangements with their gardeners that part of the 

 wages of those men should be whatever prizes they could make 

 out of the pocket of the Royal Horticultural Society, and then, 

 gardeners not ha-ving received these prizes, actions to recover 

 them have been brought in the names of the gardeners, but 

 in reality on behalf of gentlemen who ought, I think, show 

 greater consideration for our Society [applause]. We have now 

 been placed in the position either of having to pay these prizes 

 or to be cited in the County Court for them. We choose the 

 latter alternative for this reason — that although we have funds 

 in our hands, and more than sufficient, to pay those prizes, yet 

 our entire debts at this moment are rather larger than the funds 

 at our present disposal. We think, therefore, to pay the gar- 

 deners under their threats of action before U3 would be, under the 

 circumstances I have described, an objectionable form of prefer- 

 ential payment [cries of " hear "] . We, the Council, thought we 

 ought not to pay at all under these circumstances — under threats, 

 unless we could pay twenty shillings in the pound to all, which 

 we can nearly do. But we thought it would be very unfair to 

 our tradesmen if, because those gentlemen (for whom I have 

 very little compassion) choose to press us in an indecent manner, 

 we did not reserve the rights of those who have treated us with 



consideration. Our tradesmen have not pressed us, as they 

 know very well we shall have ample funds from which everyone 

 shall have his due. At the worst we do not owe half a year's 

 income. Can anyone, or can most people say they are not half 

 a year in advance of their income? [laughter]. I know a 

 great many people who consider themselves extremely fortunate 

 when they are no worse off than that [hear, and a laugh]. I 

 merely mention this circumstance here because, between this 

 and the time of our adjourned Meeting you may see chronicled 

 proceedings in the County Court which may go against us, and 

 in that case in order to carry out our principle we shall have 

 to file a declaration of insolvency to protect our other credi- 

 tors [oh! and no]. I hope, however, we shall in a short time 

 be able to make such a statement of arrangement between the 

 Commissioners, the Council, and our own Fellows outside as 

 will place us in ample funds. But, ladies and gentlemen, it is 

 well it should be borne in mind that of all those liabilities we 

 are the inheritors, not the causers or the authors [hear]. Take 

 my own case. It was not until after the vote which displaced 

 the last Council that I became a member of the Society. After 

 that vote I was asked to become a Fellow of the Society, and to 

 do the best I could to jdaco the Society in a better position than 

 that in which it then stood. I acceded to that call, but I did 

 not consider I should be made responsible for the state of things 

 which then exi&ted [hear, hear]. In common with other mem- 

 bers of the Society I regretted that such a state of affairs should 

 exist, but we did not consider ourselves responsible for it. I 

 am prepared, and my friends of the Council around me are 

 prepared, to enter fully and minutely into the circumstances 

 of this Society. We are prepared to submit to you a scheme 

 which we believe will land this Society in a prosperous position 

 among the great societies of the country ; but under the present 

 circumstances you see my lips are sealed, and the lips of my 

 colleagues are also sealed. I hope you will take our advice and 

 not further discuss the position of this Society. We regret that 

 many of you should have been brought from a distance to attend 

 this Meeting, in order to aid, if you could, to get the Society 

 through its difficulties. We are not responsible for this, and we 

 hope you will be satisfied with our explanation [hear, hear]. 



Mr. H. S. Godson. — HaveyonanyguaranteethatHer Majesty's 

 Commissioners will entertain your proposals between this and 

 the expiration of ten days ? 



The Chaibjian. — None whatever. 



Mr. A. Lindsay said he was of opinion that if the meeting con- 

 sented to adjourn for ten days, it would be consistent with the 

 duty the Council owed to the Society to state to the meeting 

 what the nature of the proposals is which Her Majesty's Com- 

 missioners had under consideration [hear, hear]. The schemes 

 brought before the Commissioners when he had a knowledge of 

 these matters were such as neither that meeting nor any other 

 meeting of the Fellows would entertain, and if the Council of 

 the Koyal Horticultural Society was in a position to say Her 

 Majesty's Commissioners had accepted them, it would be for 

 that meeting to negative them, which he had no doubt they 

 would do. It was very important that this meeting, which was 

 now asked to adjourn, should know exactly what the nature of 

 the proposals before Her Majesty's Commissioners were [hear, 

 hear J . More than that, it was highly important for the meeting, 

 having the knowledge of the nature of the proposals, should be 

 able to say whether they were such as they could or could not 

 accept. So much for that part of the address of the Chairman, 

 and he should, in the interests of the Society, ask the Fellows 

 to weigh the matter carefully before they gave their vote upon it. 

 With regard to a statement of the Chairman, he desired to say that 

 as far as his knowledge went, it was not accurate to say that the 

 debts of the Society were smaller than they had been when the 

 present Council came into office. He (Mr. Lindsay) believed the 

 debts of the Society were larger than they had been [cries of " no "] . 

 Well, the debts were smaller in one sense, but if they were it 

 was because the assets of the Society had been applied by the 

 Council to the payments of the Society's debts [hear and '* no "]. 

 There was another point in his lordship's speech to which he 

 should allude ; it was that with respect to the prizes. As re- 

 garded those gentlemen who obtained the prizes, he felt bound 

 to say that those of them to whom his lordship in the chair re- 

 ferred had very strong reasons to resent the way in which they 

 had been reflected upon [hear and "no"]. He (Mr. Lindsay) 

 never knew a gentleman who made the prizes his gardener ob- 

 tained a portion of his wages ; but there were a great many 

 gentlemen who said to their gardeners, " If you choose to exhibit 

 those things at your own cost, you may exhibit that which has 

 been grown at my own cost and expenditure." Now acts of that 

 description were very kind, and he did not think it right to say 

 that gentlemen who acted in this way were acting in an nn- 

 gentlemanly manner [hear, hear]. These very gardeners who 

 had been spoken of by his lordship were out of pocket according 

 to the extent to which they exhibited, and tlie result of the 

 present position of affairs with respect to the Society was that 

 the gardeners who had exhibited not only did not receive the 

 bonus to which as prizewinners they were entitled, but, iu 



