December 16, 1876. ] JOURNAL OP HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



520 



make their snggeatioDS. I entreat them not to stand upon their 

 moral r'ghta, but to come forward in the general good and tell 

 ua whit sacrifice they are prepared to make [hear, hear, and 

 applause]. Of course in any measures w© take will be included 

 a house- lo-house visitation [hear, hear], in a strong attempt to 

 make all those who use the gardens to subscribe to them, and it 

 may be hereafter possible — and it will be a great pleasure to the 

 Council if it is so— to restore some of the privileges we call upon 

 yon to give up [hear, hearj. It is impossible to disguise that 

 one of the many difficulties which have encumbered our action 

 is a divided couusel amongst the Fellows [hear, hear]. We 

 know such a thing has existed, and that there does exist con- 

 siderable jealousy between the local subscribers and those who 

 are specially counected with scientific horticulture. I do hope 

 they will proceed in this matter without any such feeling, be- 

 cause if they do not it will bring about the coming disaster. On 

 an occasion of this sort which 1 feel is, as far as the interests of 

 this Society are concerned, a solemn one, I think it my duty to tell 

 yon under what circumstances the Royal Horticultural Society 

 was invested with the management of the gardens. The spokes- 

 man of the Royal Horticultural Society was Dr. Lindley, one of 

 the most eminent botanists this country has produced — one of 

 the men who most had, of all others, the interest of science at 

 heart, and one of those who wou.d not degrade the study of 

 science ; and lot me read you the opinions he expressed at the 

 opening of the Horticultural Society. Dr. Lindley said — " We, 

 the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society, venture to 

 congratulate your Royal Hi;;hness upon the important stage at 

 which we have now arrived, in which you take so active an 

 interest — an undertaking for the establishment at the west end 

 of this metropolis of a noble garden by which, with the aid of 

 Chiswick, not only the science of horticulture will be promoted, 

 but an additional means of enjoyment and recreation afforded 

 to the dense population of the neighbourhood." 

 A Fellow.— What is the date of that ? 



The Presldent. — It was in 18G1, on the occasion of these 

 gardens being handed over to the Horticultural Society. Yon 

 see Dr. Lindley was not without tukiag into account the enjoy- 

 ment and recreation of the members of the dense populaiion 

 around these gardens [hear, hear]. I know many of you look 

 with a Inngiug look to Chiswick Gardens [cries of "hear"]. 

 Well, "Distance lends enchantment to the view" [laughter]. 

 Those were considered as the good halcyon days when those 

 who promoted the study of horticulture wished to do so without 

 the influence and chatter which they now have to cope with 

 [" hear, hear," from a Fellow]. The cheer of the honourable 

 gentleman is a confirmation ot what I say as to what their views 

 were [hear, hear]. Well, we had to struggle with difficulties 

 not greater than these which may be overcome, tut really there 

 is little strength in the suggestion that our connection with 

 South Kensington is an unfortunate one. In 18U4 the Society 

 was formed, aud in 1809 it received its charter. In 1830 it got 

 into Buch difficulties that a committee was appointed to in- 

 quire into the question of its management, and the committee 

 reported that then there existed a debt lo the extent of i.'20,313. 

 Fortunately, two years afterwards the plan of annual exhibitions 

 was started. At first it was but a small success, but afterwards 

 it became a great one. Between 1832 and 1841, assisted by the 

 use of the Duke cf Devonshire's gardens [hear, hear], the So- 

 ciety was able to pay off some of what it owed. In 1855 they 

 were again oppressed with the amount of their debt, and in 1856 

 BO hopeless was the condition of the Horticultural Society that 

 the abandonment of Chiswick was considered and actually 

 proposed. In 1858, in spite of several vigorous efforts made to 

 pay oft the debt, it had increased very largely, aud the Society 

 was put to the resource of putting up their magnificent library 

 to auction, and it brought some ±'900. In 18C1 a proposal was 

 made to the Society to take charge of these gardens. The num- 

 ber of Fellows rose from 958 at that time to 3350 in 1804 [cheers], 

 and they were enabled to pay off the sum of £10,000 with which 

 they were encumbered. I think, therefore, it cannot be shown 

 that the connection with South Kensington was, in a financial 

 point, a disastrous one, and I decline altogether to believe that 

 wh^-n something has been done to create a love of horticulture 

 it is inevitable that something should occur not pleasing to the 

 lovers of the science. The great desire of the late Prince Con- 

 sort was not only to popularise the love of horticulture by the 

 B.tablishment of beautiful gardens in the metropolis, but, as he 

 himself said, to connect it with architecture, sculpture, and 

 painting [hear, hear]. To some extent his desire has been 

 realised. The CommisEioners of 1851 have speui no less than 

 X'63,000 in the architectural adornment of the gardens, with a 

 taste and beauty acknowledged everywhere. In the neighbour- 

 hood are rising structures to contain portions of the collections 

 in the British Museum. Indeed, the best — the very best speci- 

 mens of European art are to be fuund in the South Kensington 

 Museum, so that the local and excellent plans of the Prince 

 Consort to establish a local place fur arts and science have not 

 altogether been disappointed [applause]. I do trust the mea- 

 sures taken to. day will seoare the succesa of that scheme ; and 



in order that wo may act unitedly we will listen to whatever 

 objections may be urged against our scheme with attention, and 

 incorporate whatever amendments or suggestions that may be 

 found not wholly inconsistent with them, aud in saying that 

 the Council feel assured they will receive the friendly support 

 of those who do us the honour of attending on tliis day [pro- 

 longed cheers]. 



Dr. Pinches said the Fellows must congratulate the noble 

 Chairman on his statement respecting the past history aud 

 present position of the Society. He wished, however, he could 

 congratulate the Fellows upon the tact that they had fallen upon 

 the philosopher's stone. They wanted to find some method to 

 raise their income from .17500 to £10,000 per annum, and only 

 on this condition that they should enjoy the privileges they 

 possessed for many years past [hear, hear]. He thought the 

 object they had in view was not restricted to this or that group 

 of Fellows, but one in which all the Fellows were equally inter- 

 ested — he meant the prosperity and continuance ot the Royal 

 Horticultural Society [hear, hear] ; and if they differed in their 

 views as to the best way of effecting their common object, he 

 hoped they should do so in the same courteous friendly spirit 

 which the noble Chairman had maintained [cheers]. Speaking 

 for himself he (Dr. Pinches) might say he had had no conver- 

 sation with any of the officials of the Society, or with any of 

 the Fellows of the Society except one, on the matter before 

 them as to the new conditions or privileges, and in the remarks 

 he was making was speaking for himself only. He must say 

 when he read the instructions which he received, aud saw it 

 stated that the reason why their subscriptions were so much 

 reduced was on account of the system of transfer, he did expect 

 some other solution of the difficulty than that proposed [hear, 

 hear]. The question, no doubt, was full of difficulty, and it was 

 no wonder the Council had not hit upon the happiest method of 

 raising the fortunes of the Society. He thought they had not 

 done so [hear, hear]. It would have been better if the Council 

 had called a meeting and said to the Fellows, " These are the 

 changes we propose, and we ask you to sanction them" [hear, 

 hear]. It would have been better for them to do that than to 

 issue a printed paper which they were practically compelled to 

 withdraw [" no" and "hear"]. He thought the sacrifices the 

 Fellows were called upon to make were too great — much greater 

 indeed than was necessary, and which, even if conceded, would 

 fail to accomplish the object they all had at heart [applause]. 

 Now, he should give to the meeting a comparison of the privileges 

 the Fellows did enjoy at present and those they should enjoy 

 under the proposed regulations. A four-guinea Fellow — and he 

 was sorry to hear that class of Fellows only numbered 1100— had 

 now two tickets, both of which were transferable, and the two 

 together enabled him to bring four other persons, so that he 

 had admission for six persons on all occasions except those of 

 flower shows. In addition to that he had the privilege of giving 

 away forty tickets of admission in the year— a privilege which, 

 estimated by the number of tickets, is not much used. He was 

 quite willing to concede that these tickets should no longer be 

 issued [hear, hear]. But what were they offered in place of 

 them ? They were offered one ticket for their four guineas 

 which was not transferable, personal admissi .n being only 

 granted. But they might have two more tickets, and put on 

 them the names of the persons to use them, so that they would 

 have three admissions instead of six, and only one of the three 

 could be transferable under any circumstances whatever. 



A F'ellow. — No, no. 



Dr. Pinches. — If I am wrong, please correct me. That, as he 

 understood it, was the existing state of things. Furthermore, 

 if a gentleman was a four-guinea Fellow there were certain 

 (iays — <' reserved days " — on which positively he could not bring 

 in either of his nominees or his own wife. 



Sir ALFREn Slade. — Hear, hear. 



Dr. Pinches felt sure the Council had never contemplated 

 that. If a man wanted to enjoy his privileges he must pay 

 eight guineas a-year. There was a mysterious allusion to 

 "reserve days" in the document issued by the Council. He 

 did not know what those days meant, but he should say it 

 would be a very difficult matter for the Council to shut the 

 gardens in the lace of the Fellows by any regulations on which 

 they might agree [hear, hear]. He might bo wrong, and no 

 doubt if he was the legal adviser of the Society would correct 

 him. Then they were to have the privilege of having a book of 

 tickets— twenty tickets for a guinea. That was the only feature 

 in the new propositions worthy the serious consideration of the 

 Fellows [oh !]. He thought it should be made a condition that 

 on Saturdays the gardens should be kept as a promenade for 

 the Fellows. It seemed to him that if, with all the attractions 

 they bad been enabled to offer the Fellows in past years- 

 including tickets for the International Exhibitions— they had 

 failed to attract to them a large number of Fellows and so raise 

 the income of the Society, it was only a natural consequence 

 that if they abridged the privileges of the F'ellows they must 

 abridge the number of those who would go to the gardens 

 [chters]. The thing was palpable and required no further 



