530 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAKDEr^EE, 



( Decembsr 10, 1875. 



consideration [hear and no]. He was not surprised to hear, 

 although he much regretted it, that a considerable number of 

 Fellows had stated their intention to withdraw from the Society 

 'if those propositions were gone on with. He should be glad to 

 hear from any member of the Council what it was they held 

 cut to those who were likely to become Fellows. If they failed 

 to attract them when they offered admission for six, what would 

 be the result when they only gave them admissions for three ? 

 [hear, hear.] He should like to arrive at a practical issue on 

 this question, but would not embarrass the Council by any 

 attempt to move a resolution or amendment to the propositions. 

 He should, however, call attention tc one or two points in the 

 old rules and in the new ones, and possibly the suggestions he 

 would make might be adopted. He was very reluctant to 

 embarrass the Executive of the Society, and he would just 

 suggest that this might be done — to retain Kule 1 of the old 



arules and that in Rules 2 and 17 



Mr. Godson, sen. — I rise to order. If you don't move a reso- 

 lution you have no right to speak [" oh, oh "]. 



Dr. Pinches. — I have no objection to move a resolution to pat 

 myself in form. 



The Pbesfdent. — Surely any observations upon this matter 

 in which we are all so interested can be made without moving 

 ja re solution [cheers]. 



Dr. Pinches said if it were necessary he could easily move a 

 resolution. He would saggest that the privilege be retained 

 [cries of " Bead "]. Well, it entitled the Fellow to two trans- 

 -lerable tickets, and gave admienion both to Chiswick and South 

 Kensington. Then in Rule 2, which gave the right of admitting 

 two friends on any day in the week, ho thought they might 

 aabstitute "one" for "two" [hear, hear], to show they were 

 aaxious to help the Council out of a difficulty. He suggested 

 that in Rule 17 the word " two," which affected two-guinea 

 Fellows, should be taken out, and the word " one " let in. He 

 should propose that in the new propositions privileges 3 and 5 

 be adopted — that was as regarded purchafing tickets for house- 

 holds ; and the rule respecting the restriction upon Fellows 

 bringing in their wives any time be amended. No. 6, to admit 

 Ijy personal introduction, should be abandoned; and he further 

 suggested that it might be possible in future to charge all new 

 Fellows five guineas for what they called the double ticket and 

 three guineas for the single ticket. These were the suggestions 

 which occurred to him, and he should not trespass further on 

 the time of the meeting. He should move a resolution towards 

 •ihe close of the meeting. 



Lord Bury said he did not propose, in discussing this matter, 

 to enter into any such details as those referred to by the last 

 speaker. No doubt the last speaker was quite right in his ex- 

 amination of this scheme. First, he (Lord Bury) asked to be 

 permitted to congratulate the Society that his successor in the 

 presidential chidr was a gentleman so highly respected and so 

 ■competent to deal with the complicated affairs of the Society 

 as his lordship [cheers]. They were all extremely fortunate in 

 securing the services of his lordship, and he must say that 

 having a vivid recollection of the very hard work that has to be 

 done as President, they had reason to think themselves lucky in 

 the selection of President which had been made [applause] . 

 In his lordship's opening speech he did not exactly tell the 

 meeting what he wished them to do. His lordship said he only 

 invited discussion on the scheme of the Council, and that the 

 ■Council intended to be itiflueuced by the decision the meeting 

 would arrive at. He (Lord Bury) wished now to tender his 

 services to his noble friend and the Council in carrying out any 

 scheme which might be decided on; and in order to do that 

 with effect the best way was to criticise frankly, and not with 

 any opposition or hostility, the scheme submitted to them 

 {hear, hear] . The scheme emanated from a Council which 

 turned out the Council of which he (Lord Bury) was President. 

 The President. — No. 

 Several Fellows. — Oh, yes. 



Lord Bury went on to say ho should not make any observa- 

 'tion which would impart any unpleasant character to their pro- 

 ceedings ; but he dared say he should have been in the presi- 

 dential chair if the Society did not wish to dispense with his 

 (Services, and the reason why the old Council was displaced by 

 the present one was that the element which his friend Lord 

 Aberdare called the " scientific horticultural " element was in 

 the persons of the late Council somewhat disregarded. Now 

 they had the gardeners in the ascendant. They had pro- 

 duced their scheme, and it seemed to him the only point on 

 which they were at. oil agreed was that the income of the 

 Society was unsatisfactory [hear, hear]. Now the scheme was 

 before them as to the raaimer in which that state of things was 

 <lo be remedied. And what did it all amount to ? Why, that 

 the privileges hereafter enjoyed by the Fellows were to be very 

 materially curtailed. As they could not offer sufficient attrac- 

 tions in the gardens in the old days when the Fellows had many 

 jprivileges, he did not see how they could raise the income by 

 diminishing the attractions [hear, hear]. 



The President. — Lord Bury ought to remember he is repeat- 



ing the arguments of the last speaker [hear, hear]. We have 

 uo such wild scheme in our minds as that of saving the Society 

 by reducing the privileges of the Fellows. What we want is 

 to prevent an abuse [cheers]. I am, at the same time, quite 

 sure that Lord Bury will grapple manfully with the scheme, 

 and in doing so will not remember former disputes. 



Lord Bury was perfectly willing to accept the courtesy of his 

 noble friend, but he would not exactly admit the charge of abuse 

 of privileges by the old Fellows. His noble friend in the chair 

 appeared to think he would be able by the scheme of the Council 

 to bring a large number of new subscribers, and in so thinking 

 he (Lord Bury) deferred to his noble friend, but he did not think 

 the scheme submitted by the Council was one which would find 

 general favour throughout the Society [hear, hear]. His noble 

 friend referred to the first origin of the Society. It appeared 

 there were at first some nine hundred Fellows, and that in two 

 or three years the number raised to 3.500. What did that prove ? 

 Why, that the attractions of the gardens brought the Fellows, 

 and that they were still in possession of these gardens, and that 

 it was the possession of these gardens which enabled the Society 

 to pay their way. The Council of which he (Lord Bury) was a 

 member submitted a scheme to the Society which, if accepted, 

 would have enabled them to go on perfectly well — ^that was, that 

 the Society should revert to their original possessions before 

 they came to South Kensington. He thought if the Society 

 went back to Chiswick very much better work would be done 

 for horticulture. It would not hamper the Council, and would 

 allow the local Fellows to make such terms as they could with 

 the Commissioners. It would keep these gardens open as one 

 of the lungs of the metropolis, and bring a large accession of 

 horticultural Fellows. People joined this Society in order to be 

 in posaession of those magnificent gardens, to have a breath of 

 fresh air, and keep the place open as one of the luogs of the 

 metropolis, and that was what he said, if not hampered in the 

 future, the horticultural element would still be able to do. He 

 thought horticulture would be the better if the Society had 

 adopted the plan which had been proposed, and if they did so 

 they would not — that is, his friends and himself, be in a minority, 

 and the scheme would be amply sufficient to carry the Society 

 on. He distinctly said that even if it was found impossible for 

 the Society to keep these gardens, it would still be impossible 

 for the Commissioners to build over this open space [hear, hear]. 

 He asserted that it would still be kept as an open space even if 

 the Society went to the dogs [hear and laughter]. Why, he 

 asked, should thi> Society be told that if they did not agree to 

 the plan of the Council the Society would be swamped ? Why, 

 what could happen if even that occurred ? Why, even if the 

 Society was swamped it would be no worse than it was at the 

 present time [hear, heir]. With respect to the differences of 

 the Society, he and the other members had kept an absolute 

 neutrality [hear, hear] . His friends and his supporters thought, 

 and he believed they would always think, that by the proposi- 

 tions of the Fellows they were hardly dealt with [hear, hear]. 

 The local Fellows, he thought, were hardly dealt with. What 

 he stated distinctly and unreservedly was that the gardens of 

 South Kensington could not and would not, being one of the 

 lungs of the metropolis, be closed to its people [cheers]. In 

 fine, his comments amounted to this, and to this only, that he 

 thought if the proposals of the Council were carried out they 

 would bring upon the Society a worse position than it occupied 

 before [hear and cheers]. In conclusion, Lord Bury expressed 

 his opinion that his noble friend in the chair had really the 

 interest of the Society at heart, and said he felt certain that hia 

 noble friend would not be a party to any scheme which he did 

 not think was calculated to promote the interests of horticul- 

 ture and of the Society which took its name from that of the 

 science [cheers]. At any rate, by the aid of the local Fellows 

 the Society would not have the slightest difficulty in keeping 

 the gardens as being one of the lungs of the metropohs [cheers]. 

 He thought that if the propositions of the Council were carried 

 out they would place the Society in a worse position than that 

 in which it at present stood [cries of "no"]. In conclusion, 

 Lord Bury entreated the Fellows to revert to the proposals put 

 forward by the Council of which he had been the last president 

 [cheers]. 



Sir Peter Pole said, amid a good deal of laughter, My Lord, 

 four subscribers told me that if these propositions are carried 

 by the meeting they will have their names scratched out of the 

 books of the Society [great laughter]. 



The President — Have you anything else to say on the pait 

 of these four subscribers ? 



Sir Peter Pole. — No, my Lord; that is my only objection 

 [laughter]. 



The President. — It is one I am certain the Council and the 

 meeting will take into very serious account [great laughter]. 

 What we really have to do to-day you all know is a most serious 

 business. The fate of the Horticultural Society hangs upon it, 

 and I am certain that there is not a gentleman in tliis room who 

 has not at heart the real welfare, the renewed and permanent 

 prosperity, of the Royal Horticultural Society [cheers]. 



