COUNCIL — SEPTEMBER 1912 — 26 — 



ill and in May last year his Doctor had warned him that unless he could soon 

 obtain some respite from the very arduous duties and responsibilities, which his 

 position had entailed in recent years, he would be obliged to advise him to resign. 

 The respite, which he had anticipated, did not, however, occur, and on the 2nd 

 of April last his medical adviser, after consultation with one of the most eminent 

 consulting physicians in London, issued a certificate as to the state of his health of 

 so serious a nature that he felt he was no longer justified in disregarding their 

 advice, and he asked the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries to allow him to resign. 

 At the same time he wrote unofficially to the General Secretary, informing him of 

 the action he had taken and intimating that in the circumstances he should not 

 seek re-election as President at the Meeting to be held later in that month. The 

 reply, he said, which he received from the General Secretary was of that kindly 

 and sympathetic nature which those who knew that gentleman would have anti- 

 cipated, and the General Secretary expressed the hope that he wmild not at that 

 juncture refuse to allow himself to be nominated for the Presidency at the next 

 Meeting, and in any case, if it were at all possible, that he would attend that 

 Meeting. Yielding to those representations and to the request of his Government, 

 that he should again represent them, he had attended that Meeting. His resignation 

 not having at that time been formally accepted by his Government, he was not 

 then in a position to announce it officially, but at the first day's Meeting of the 

 Bureau he told his colleagues what had occurred and intimated that in the circum- 

 stances he should not seek re-election at President. As some erroneous statements 

 had been made as to what took place on that occasion, he thought it best to read 

 that part of the protocol of the Bureau Meeting referring to tliis matter, which 

 was as follows, viz: — 



"Mr. Archer made a private communication to the Bureau, to the effect 

 that he had resigned his official position in England, and that his resignation would 

 shortly be accepted by the British Government. The Vice-Presidents, Pettersson 

 and Rose, and the General Secretary expressed their deep regret that Mr. Archer 

 had been obliged, owing to ill-health, to resign his position as Assistant Secretary 

 of the English Fishery Department. They wished, however, to point out that as 

 Mr. Archer still held the position of British Delegate, there was no reason at all 

 why he should refuse to allow himself to be renominated as President of the 



