THE LADIES' KENNEL ASSOCIATION. 



549 



Whyte, Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. Thomas, Mrs. 

 Jenkins, Mrs. Carlo Clarke, Mrs. Morgan 

 Crofton, and Mrs. Handley Spicer, with 

 Mr. R. Hunter as the legal adviser and 

 Mr. G. B. Manley as secretary and trea- 

 surer pro tern. After much assiduous 

 work the liabilities of the old association 

 were entirely cleared with the help of 

 generous subscriptions, Her Majesty the 

 Queen heading the list with ^100; and 

 subsequently, when the proceedings of the 

 association were called in question in the 

 courts, they issued from the ordeal with a 

 clean sheet. 



An informal conference had been held 

 on March 25th, at 58, Grosvenor Street, 

 between members of the Ladies' Kennel 

 Association and the ladies' branch of the 

 Kennel Club. The L.K.A. were repre- 

 sented by the Countess of Aberdeen, Mrs. 

 Preston Whyte, Mrs. Handley Spicer; the 

 L.B.K.C. by Mrs. C. Chapman, Mrs. 

 Skewes Cox, Lady Lewis, and Mrs. Oli- 

 phant. It was hoped that an amalgama- 

 tion with the Kennel Club might be 

 effected, but the terms asked by the govern- 

 ing body were not such as the committee 

 felt justified in asking the L.K.A. to accept. 

 Another meeting of members only was held 

 at the Morley Hall, Hanover Square, in 

 April, under the presidency of the Countess 

 of Aberdeen, when the various ways of 

 forming a new association were fully dis- 

 cussed, and it was unanimously agreed that 

 some such organisation of dog lovers 

 among women was a necessity. In spite of 

 the cloud still hanging over them, the 

 members pluckily decided to hold the usual 

 summer show at the Botanical Gardens. 

 A strong committee was formed, with the 

 Countess of Aberdeen as chairman and 

 Mrs. Charles Chapman hon. treasurer, 

 several other members of the L.B.K.C. 

 also acting. 



The show was an unqualified success, 

 favoured with glorious weather and a 

 record entry of 2,301. H.R.H. the 

 Duchess of Con naught, president of the 

 association, accompanied by H.R.H. the 

 Duke and their daughters, visited the show- 

 on the first day, June 26 ; a parade of prize- 

 winners was held in their honour, and they 

 also went round the benches. Her Majesty 

 the Queen, who was a successful exhibitor 



with a Borzoi and a Basset-hound, also 

 honoured the show, with a visit on the 

 second day. Her Majesty was much in- 

 terested in^ several of the dogs, some of 

 which, By Tier request, were taken off the 

 bench for a better inspection. As presum- 

 ably every woman at the show was inter- 

 ested in dogs, a meeting was held to 

 receive the port drawn up by the pro- 

 visional committee, appointed at Morley 

 Hall, and "to consider a draft constitution 

 and rules for a reconstituted association of 

 women dog owners," submitted by a joint 

 committee formed by the L.K.A. and 

 L.B.K.C. Mr. Farman, a prominent 

 member of the Kennel Club committee, 

 was present, and explained the advantages 

 of a Charter of Incorporation, and the 

 different methods by which it might be 

 obtained. It was explained that every 

 member's liability was limited to the sub- 

 scription. The question of the name led 

 to much discussion, whether the old one 

 should be retained, with all its memories, 

 pleasant and otherwise, or a new one, such 

 as " The Ladies' Kennel Union," be taken. 

 When it was put to the vote the feeling 

 of the meeting was strongly in favour of 

 the old title, only two hands being held 

 up in favour of a change. 



The application to the Board of Trade 

 for Incorporation was, after some delay, 

 heard before the Parliamentary secretary 

 to the Board, Mr. Bonar Law. The pro- 

 ceedings were not held in a public court, 

 so were not reported ; but the action was 

 opposed by Mrs. Stennard Robinson, late 

 hon. secretary of the L.K.A., and others 

 acting with her, on the grounds that there 

 were still debts owing by the association, 

 though it had been dissolved. Mr. Far- 

 man and Mr. R. Hunter, on behalf of the 

 applicants, were able to prove to the satis- 

 faction of the Board that the constitution 

 of the new association would be very 

 different from the old one, and that, in 

 spite of statements to the contrary in the 

 public press, all just debts incurred by the 

 association had been discharged. The 

 proposed rules having been submitted to 

 the Board, the Charter of Incorporation 

 was granted ; needless to say with what 

 satisfaction the intelligence w r as received 

 by tho.se who had worked so enthusiastic- 



