Jnl7 15, 1875. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



45 



heart ia the welfare of the Society, and I can only say that if 

 the Council only inaugurates a certain state of things hy which 

 the Society could gain the co-operation of large towns like Bir- 

 mingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Derby, they will acquire 

 for themselves the best wishes of the horticultural world [hear, 

 hear]. I do hope, my lord, that when you and your colleagues 

 have placed your resignations in the hands of the Council that 

 yon will remain in the Society. I believe that hundreds of 

 Fellows in the midland counties will accede to the Society. I 

 beg to second the resolution. 



The Chairman, having stated that Sir Coutta Lindsay was in 

 Scotland, said :— The Meeting will please grant me three words 

 of explanation 'hear, bear] . It is true that three of my colleagues 

 and myself said we would resign, and we proposed to resign. At 

 the end of the Meeting Sir Alfred Slide remarked— and I quote 

 from a verbatim report of the Meeting published in the Journal 

 of Horticulture— tb&t, according to the IGth bye-law, no busi- 

 ness except that for which the adjournment was made could 

 take place. This was what occurred. [He read from the Jour- 

 nal of Horticulture of June the 10th of this year;— 



" Sir Alfred Slaiie remarked that, according to the sixteenth bye-law, no 

 bnsinesa except that for which the adjournment was made could talio place. 

 Therefore the Meeting was incapablo of accepting the resignation of the 

 members of the Council or to appoint their feuccessors. He regretted very 

 much that there bhould be any reason for the resignation of tho members of 

 the Board who had tendered it. 



" The Chairman said Sir Alfred Slade was right. Another Meeting would 

 have to be called to deal with the resignalions. That was strictly in accord- 

 ance with the bye-law which he had quoted. The simple fact was they would 

 have to call another Meeting."] 



"Well, they did not think it right to resign except at a General 

 Meeting. That General Meeting is now called, and our resig- 

 nations go in. Why did I say our resignations ought not to be 

 taken except at a General Meeting? Because half of the mem- 

 bers shall be flUed up by the Council and half by the General 

 Meeting. We only announced our intention of resigning at the 

 General Meeting, but when we got to the Council-room we found 

 a list had been prepared in which the four vacancies were to be 

 filled up by certain gentlemen irreproachable in themselves, but 

 not returnable because we thought the whole thing ought to have 

 been referred to a General Meeting. At the Council Meeting of 

 the 7th we had the list, which we refused to vote upon because 

 we felt that the matter should be brought before a General 

 Meeting. When the list of Fellows was proposed I moved the 

 following amendment :— " That although the names submitted 

 are unexceptionable, it is desirable to submit the whole matter 

 for the general discussion of the Society." 



Lord Alfred Chorchlll. — It was perfectly competent for 

 any twelve members to sign a requisition. 



The Chairman. — No doubt, but I am afraid there was a certain 

 apathy amongst the members of the Society. You cannot 

 expect men to devote their whole attention to the affairs of this 

 Society, and 



Mr. W. A. Lindsay. — Will you allow me to call your attention 

 to the fact that 



The Chairman (emphatically). — No, do you sit down, sir. If 

 you want to make a speech you can do so afterwards. Now, I 

 will tell the Meeting why we would not resign to the Council. 

 It is because we found it a clique composed of horticulturists 

 [loud cries of " oh," and some uproar]. It may be possible that 

 all sections in the Council will be flUed-up by the horticultural 

 section [cries of "hear" and "no "J. I am perfectly willing 

 that every member of the Council shall be a horticulturist, but 

 what we contend is that that shall not be done until the general 

 body of the Fellows shall have carried that into effect. I do not 

 believe that the South Kensingtonians will have confidence in 

 Bnch a Council [cries of "no" and "hear"]. Well, there is a 

 difference of opinion on that point. I deprecate as much as 

 anyone the difference of opinion arising in its extremest form, 

 but in my opinion if some arrangement with the Royal Com- 

 missioners is not come to your Society will fall to pieces [" no, 

 no"]. That is my opinion, and I do believe it is my duty to 

 say so. I wash my hands out of the concern with the greatest 

 possible satisfaction. I never attended a Meeting convened in 

 response to a requisition couched in such terms [hear, hear] ; 

 and although I am willing to refer it to the clumsiness of those 

 who drew it up, I may say if you get men to serve you on such 

 terms you are extremely lucky [laughter and "oh"]. I see a 

 great many good old friends amongst us, and I should be sorry 

 to part with them except on the best of terms [cheers]. I hope 

 all bygones will be bygones [hear, hear], but I do speak my 

 mind when I say you had better take the concern into your own 

 hands instead of having it governed as it now stands. I now 

 place my resignation and that of Sir Coutts Lindsay in the 

 hands of the Secretary in the best good humour, and I take 

 leave of yon in harmony and with best good wishes [cheers]. 



Admiral Hornby. — I came upon the Council knowing nobody 

 in it, and finding no cliqueism in it. I have been an active 

 horticulturist for many years ; but I believe among the South 

 Kensingtonians there are many good men who have nothing to 

 do with the jealousies and heart-burnings which nnhappily 



existed, but who have been willing to place the Society on a 

 sure footing without any party feeling whatever. I joined the 

 Council, and it becomes my business to allude with great regret 

 to the relations existing between the horticulturists and the 

 Kensingtonians. It is fair to say what I have already said, that 

 I have not found any feeling of clique on the Council, and I 

 feel certain that members of Council did not say one word they 

 did not firmly believe [hear, hear]. I have come here without 

 any party feeling. I have come upon the Council without 

 having any resolution in my mind, except that of doing the best 

 I could for the Society [hear, hear]. In spite of all that has 

 been said, I believe there is a bright future for the Society, and 

 that we have no reason whatever to despair. I heard at the last 

 Meeting words uttered as to the Royal Commissioners, and I 

 don't know by what authority the word "shuffling" was used 

 towards gentlemen admittedly high-minded. I feel perfectly 

 assured of the good feeling of the Commissioners towards the 

 Society, and I am sure they will meet us in a right and proper 

 spirit [hear, hearl. Notwithstanding many things I have heard 

 as to the condition of the Society, there is not the least reason 

 why this Society should not do well and be really prosperous 

 and well-doing. My only policy is a policy of consolidation. I 

 would point out to the South Kensingtonians how necessary it 

 is to keep these gardens for their own enjoyment, and to the 

 horticulturists how necessary it is to keep those gardens for 

 their own pleasure [hear, hear]. I cannot conceive why, if a wet 

 sponge is rubbed over what is past, we could not resume a 

 position honourable to ourselves and beneficial to the Eoyal 

 Horticultural Society of England [applause]. 



Mr. BoNAMY DoBREE. — As to what Mr. Veitoh said about the 

 gardeners, I believe the system referred to ia very much adopted. 

 Mr. Wilkins wrote to me to say his gardener would sooner lose 

 ilOOO than lose his prizes. This gardener has received about 

 tVO a-yearfor the last four years in prizes, and when the Society 

 was short of funds this very man took an action against us. ^ 

 Rather than that the Society should be placed in such a position, 

 I signed a cheque for the amount claimed [hear, hear]. When 

 I said I should resign it was to the Fellows generally I in- 

 tended to resign, and not to a clique of the Council. With aU 

 respect for the South Kensingtonians, we ought not to be bound 

 hand and foot to those gentlemen who had joined the Society 

 for their own interests. 



Mr. Bdrnley Hume. — I undertook the position of a member 

 of the Council, not as the nominee of the horticultural or any 

 other party in the Society. I came upon it as the represent- 

 ative of the general Society. I beg to repudiate the idea of 

 being the nominee of any party in the Society. We are charged 

 with being " obstructives," but instead of that being the case 

 we have done what we could to forward the interests of the 

 Society ; and we have been called this name because we have 

 failed in our miaaiou and been unable to come to terms with 

 Her Majesty's Commissioners. I think under the circumstances 

 we were justified in saying we would tender our resignations 

 [hear, hear]. We never intended not to pay the prize money, 

 but we were pressed, and the result was we received a back- 

 handed blow, which forced the Council into the County Court. 

 I should like to ask how we can be called " obstructives " when 

 our exertions on the Council have been continually obstructed 

 by matters out of doors ? [hear, and " no "] . It was other gentle- 

 men who prevented us from doing what should have been done. 

 Although, technically, I know very well we might tender our 

 resignations to the Council, I think that is better and more 

 satisfactorily done through the medium of a public meeting. I 

 am bound to say the Council has been most loyal to me in every 

 way, and during the time I have served with them I have found 

 every member ready to sacrifice time for the interests of the 

 Society [hear, hear]. 



Mr. W. B. Kellock. — ^We have elected upon the Council Lord 

 Lawrence, Mr. Grote, Admiral Hornby, and Dr. Hogg. Thus 

 yon will find that the horticultural party will be well repre- 

 sented on the Council [hear, hear]. The Council consists of 

 fifteen members, and of these eight belong to horticulture 

 [applause]. 



Mr. Henry Little, — I cannot sit down and hear Lord Bury's 

 accusation without saying a few words. I have attended to the 

 duties of a member of Council, but my feelings have never gone 

 entirely with the horticultural party, but in the direction of the 

 general good of the Society. When I was asked to take a seat 

 at the Council I was told I could be useful. I have sat on the 

 Council, and I say that Lord Bury's policy has been that the 

 South Kensington Gardens should be kept for the South Ken- 

 singtonians, and that so far as the horticultural world went it 

 should know nothing about them [" hear " and " no "]. That is 

 not a policy I like. I say it is a policy which is utterly wrong 

 [bear. hear']. What has Lord Bury done ? He has nominated 

 four Vice-Presidenta. Who are they ? Are they not all resi- 

 dents of South Kensington? [hear, hear]. Where the policy 

 of Lord Bury failed has been in giving-up the gardens to the 

 South Kensingtonians, and so long as Lord Btuy and the South 

 Kensington element was upon the Council, the Society would 



