Fobrnary 12, 1874. ] 



JOURNAL OP HOETICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



139 



Society, yet that this meeting would be doprivecl of its right to 

 elect membera on the Council in a iluo and proper manner. 



Now, there was another question 



The Chaikman. — I do not want to interrupt the gentleman 

 who seems to have something to say [a laugh] ; but the Council 

 wish to state that if what is proposed is not agreeable to the 

 meeting, and if what the honourable gentleman says is in ac- 

 cordance with the views of the meeting, we shall forward those 

 views in every way [cheers]. Three of us ought to resign, but 

 we were misinformed. Three of us will resign. The question 

 is. Will gentlemen leave things as they are ? It is a matter of 

 perfect indifference to the Council [hear, hear]. 

 A Fellow. — Put it to the vote. 



Mr. Hauguton was very much afraid they had no power to 

 adopt the suggestion at that meeting. Mr. Lindley referred to 

 the 115th bye-law, which applied to cases where there had been 

 no election or an invalid election ; but that bye-law did not 

 enable them to elect the three they ought to elect that day, 

 unless they gave notice in accordance with the 110th bye-law. 

 He was afraid if the election were made by the Council it would 

 be invalid. The proper course would be to adjourn the business 

 to another day [IJear, hear, and " no "]. 



The Ch.urman. — I put the question whether the Fellows desire 

 this to be done. Mr. Lindley says it is not necessary, and the 

 Council say it is a matter entirely unimportant to them. They 

 wish to comply with the wishes of the Fellows [hear, hear] ; 

 for I put this to the meeting, that we are willing to admit we 

 committed an inadvertent mistake, and in order to remedy it we 

 will ballot out if the meeting wishes it [hear, hear]. However, 

 Mr. Lindley thinks it is not important, and therefore the meet- 

 ing will take their own course. Those in favour of balloting 

 out, and thereby remedying the mistake, hold up their hands 

 [one hand held up]. Those in favour of the matter remaining 

 as it is hold up theirs [a large number of hands held up]. 

 Carried [laughter]. The meeting has determined that the 

 matter shall rest as it is [interruption, and cries of " no " and 

 "yes"]. The next thing we have to do is to request Mr. 

 Liggins and Mr. Pincher to act as scrutineers. 



Mr. Hadghton. — I think this is the proper time for me 



The Ch-airman. — I think the meeting will consider it better 

 that I, the President of the Society, should say a few words and 

 conduct the business in the ordinary manner. In point of fact, 

 I want to say a few words before the formal business of the 

 meeting begins. We are in a critical position in this Society. 

 You remember that a few years ago a proposition was made by 

 which the gardens were to be disposed of in such a way as we 

 thought would be very much for the benefit of the International 

 Exhibition and very little for the interest of the Fellows of the 

 Horticultural Society. Upon this a division of opinion arose, 

 and the old Council resigiied. The present Council — [A voice, 

 " Members are not to ballot " — Uproar.] I appeal to you, ladies 

 and gentlemen, to support me in the chair [cheers]. I was 

 making a statement of the fact that differences of opinion have 

 arisen, and that a majority of the Fellows placed the present 

 Council in ofBce, and their distinct duty and policy was so to 

 arrange matters as to preserve the gardens of the Royal Horticul- 

 tural Society for the use of the Fellows of the Society [cheers]. 

 The new Council have, in the face of very great opposition and 

 very great difficulty, carried out that policy to the best of their 

 understanding and power. They felt that it was exceedingly 

 necessary to enter into cordial arrangements with the Royal 

 Commissioners, and with that view and with that reason, within 

 a very few days a Committee of their body met a Committee of 

 the Royal Commissioners, and agreed with them on certain 

 terms by which mutual advantages would be obtained. From 

 the very first it was asserted on the part of the Commissioners 

 that your Council as at present constituted was not a legal body. 

 We felt when we met the Commissioners that it would be utterly 

 futile to enter into any arrangement with them, and then let it 

 be in their mouths to say that we entered into it ; but that as we 

 were not a legal body, it went for nothing. In one part of the ar- 

 rangement was inserted a clause by which the Commissioners 

 were bound that they should not be the parties to raise the ques- 

 tion. The Committee of the Royal Commissioners agreed to 

 this, and upon that agreement we at once placed them in pos- 

 session of all the advantages they derived under the agreement, 

 and we ourselves entered into the possession of advantages which 

 accrued to us. But when the matter was remitted from the 

 Committee of the Commissioners to the Commissioners them- 

 selves, several points in that agreement were struck out, and one 

 of them was the clause which stated the Commissioners would 

 not question the legality of our appointment. I need hardly 

 Bay that we should not have considered ourselves at liberty 

 to place the Commissioners in possession of advantages under 

 the agreement unless we behoved the whole of the agree- 

 ment was going to be acknowledged by the Commissioners 

 [loud cheers]. We regret very much, although we cast no 

 imputation upon them, to have to say that they have steadily 

 and persistently, although placed last year in possession of 

 all the advantages under the agreement, disregarded that por- 



tion of the agreement I have referred to, and have declared 

 tliat we are an illegal body and that they could not deal with ua 

 [oh! and " shame "|. But if this is so, why should they 

 give us thousands under the agreement ? They gave us certain 

 advantages and we gave them certain advantages. The position 

 is this, if we quarrel among ourselves the all-devouring-element 

 of South Kensington will swallow us up, and our gardens will 

 be taken from us, and we shall be turned out. Wo want you, 

 if you agree with us, to put such confidence in ua as will be sure 

 to make us successful to resist all attempts against the integrity 

 of your gardens [loud cheers]. The bone of contention is the 

 possession of these gardens [loud cheers and "no"]. I warn 

 you in time that if you are not very much on the alert these 

 gardens will pass out of your hands. Now, gentlemen, there are 

 several matters which we are told are going to be brought before 

 you to-day. I conjure you not to quarrel over these matters, 

 but to defer them until a more fitting opportunity. Let us go 

 on in the poUcy we have begun, and then, I think, we shall 

 bring it to a successful issue. Now, gentlemen, there is one 

 question of very great importance — the question of voting by 

 proxy. I do not conceal from you that there is a difference of 

 opinion on that point among the members of the Council. But 

 a very strong expression of opinion was passed on that sub- 

 ject at a late meeting in favour of voting by proxy, and aU 

 I can say is that the Council, having taken this matter in 

 hand, have no objection to draft a bye-law— such a bye-law 

 as would tend to improve the relations between the Royal Com- 

 missioners and the Fellows of the Horticultural Society [loud 

 cheers]. We hope that wiU satisfy you. The Council under- 

 take, and you may consider this a pledge on their part, they 

 will not canvass against the motion, or ask for proxies against it, 

 or do anything to interfere with it, but each individual member 

 will reserve to himself the right to discuss the matter when 

 it comes before them. I hope that will be satisfactory [cheers]. 

 I really do not know of anything we are to do but to renew 

 our appeal to you that you should throw away all dissensions and 

 work for the common good, and also — I will not say against the 

 common enemy, for we wish to be friends [laughter] — but to avoid 

 new danger, i can only say for myself and colleagues that the 

 work at this table and upstairs has been done most assiduously 

 for the last year, that it is very hard labour, and that it is some- 

 what thankless [hear]. We cannot have any personal intereata 

 in the matter further than wishing to see these gardens as open 

 spaces and unbuilt upon in the hands of the Horticultural Society 

 [loud cheers] . All I can say is, if you disagree with our policy 

 you displace us by others, and if any question brings that about I 

 for one shall retire into private life with the most assured feel- 

 ing I had tried to do my duty, but that I have been relieved from 

 a very considerable and very arduous work [loud cheers]. 

 Mr. Haughton said he should like to refer to bye-law 90. 

 Mr. Godson. — Move the report and second it [laughter]. 

 Mr. Hauohton rose amid loud cries of " chair, chair," and 

 " order." He could not obtaiu a hearing, and after some fur- 

 ther interruption, 



The Chaleman said. We do not want to stifle discirssion. Every 

 one here will have an opportunity of speaking, but pray let us 

 proceed in a proper and business-like way. 



The Honorary Secretary, Mr. W. A. Lindsay, was about to 

 read the annual report when, by the unanimous consent of the 

 meeting, it was taken as read. 



The Chaxkhan. — I now beg to move the adoption of this 

 report. 



Sir CouTTS Lindsay seconded the proposition. 

 Mr. H.inGHT0N said he had an amendment to move to the 

 following effect : — " That this meeting and business proposed to 

 be transacted thereat be adjourned to Tuesday, 10th March next, 

 at 3 P.M., to enable an opinion of the Court of Chancery to be 

 obtained, if possible in a friendly way, as to the legal position 

 of the Society, and that Lord Alfred Churchill, Sir Daniel 

 Cooper, Bart., Messrs. T. Dyer Edwardes, H. J. Veitch, and 

 G. F. Wilson, jointly and severally, be empowered to act on 

 behalf of this meeting in applying to the Court of Chancery, and 

 to co-operate with others." Mr. Haughton said he was perfectly 

 aware of the unusual nature of the proposition he had made. 

 He hoped they would hsten to him patiently for a very short 

 space of time while he expressed to them the reasons which, in 

 his mind, rendered it absolutely necessary that some extra- 

 ordinary steps should be taken to extricate the Society from 

 the position in which it now stood. The noble lord in the 

 chair had told them how this difference of opinion, which 

 unhappily existed, arose last year in consequence of the action 

 taken by some of the Fellows of this Society when the report 

 was laid before them by the Council. Many of them were there 

 to-day, and he felt that if they had not the circumstances fresh 

 in their recollection they must have the strong and violent 

 language used in that room, language which he was not going 

 to follow [cheers]. He might say that he now very much 

 rejoiced when the Council, with their Chairman, came before 

 them and had laid aside that position of open hostility they dis- 

 played when tiiey last met there [hear and cheers] . He was glad 



