December 20, 1S64. ] 



JOUKNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



4S9 



mittee-men, and Auditors ; these 'balloting lists to be circu- 

 lated amongst the Fellows some time not later than the 15th 

 of January. Further, that if any Fellow desire to substitute 

 the name of any other Fellow for that of any one recom- 

 mended by the Council for removal or election, such Fellow, 

 within seven days after the balloting lists have been cir- 

 culated, shall leave at the offices of the Society notice in 

 writing of every such proposed substitution ; that the notice 

 of any substituted names shall be suspended in the Council- 

 room, and circulated in or with the number of the Society's 

 Journal published in February ; and that if any balloting 

 list contain any names other than those in the list recom- 

 mended by the Council, or of which notice has been given 

 in the prescribed manner, or if it contain more than the 

 proper number of names, such list shall be deemed void, 

 and not taken account of by the scrutineers.] The object 

 of these provisions was to put it out of the power of a small 

 body of the Fellows to determine on names beforehand, and 

 so take the Council and Society by surprise. Last year the 

 changes were only known in the Council, but by the pro- 

 posed alteration Fellows would know what the composition 

 of the Council was likely to be, and could deal with it. Thus 

 there could be no surprise on either side — either on that of 

 the Council or that of the Fellows. 



With regard to the accounts, the new bye-laws provided 

 for a report from the auditors. 



Mr. Chester, in conclusion, suggested that this did not 

 appear to be the occasion for criticising the position of the 

 Society, although he believed that it would be competent 

 for the meeting to do so, and he wished to impress upon the 

 Fellows the importance of making as soon as possible any 

 alteration they might think fit. He begged to move that 

 the existing bye-laws be repealed, and the new ones adopted. 



Major-General Sir Andrew Waugh, in seconding the 

 motion, said that their thanks were due to the Committee 

 and Mr. Chester for the pains they had taken. It appeared 

 to him that the general principle which had guided them 

 had been to give ample power to the Council, who were 

 themselves responsible to the Fellows. 



Mr. S..H. Godson thought the new bye-laws should stand 

 over for further consideration; if gone into seriatim, they 

 would take two or three hours, and seeing the few members 

 who were present he would move an adjournment for a 

 month. He had stood alone in the Council on many matters, 

 and that was not an enviable position. He had, though a 

 member of Council, applied to see the accounts, and had 

 been Tefused, and that was the reason he was standing on 

 the floor merely as a Fellow of the Society, and not sitting 

 ■with the honourable gentlemen up yonder, for in conse- 

 quence of that refusal he had sent in his resignation to the 

 Duke of Buecleuch, the President. 



With regard to the new bye-laws they had been nine 

 months at least in the hands of the Committee, and it was 

 not too much to ask that they should stand over another 

 month. It might be asked why he himself did not take an 

 active part with respect to the revision of the bye-laws ? and 

 his reply was, that he was not on that Committee, though 

 he should have been, had not Mr. Cole objected to it. There 

 were several things in the new bye-laws to which he took 

 exception ; for instance, if, as was the case with Sir Daniel 

 Cooper, their Treasurer resigned, they had no power under 

 the new bye-laws to appoint another. He objected to the 

 Council having more power than they already possessed. 

 Had one member of Council the power of preventing another 

 seeing the accounts? He was referred to Mr. Cole for per- 

 mission to see the accounts. 



The Chairman said he ought to state that he never knew 

 Mr. Godson had applied to see the accounts and been refused. 



The Assistant Secretary said Mr. Godson must be under 

 some extraordinary delusion. Mr, Godson had never asked 

 to see the accounts. Mr. Cole hacfleft some papers of his 

 own, and he would not take upon himself to let Mr. Godson 

 see them without Mr. Cole's consent being previously ob- 

 tained. 



Mr. Cole said if he did leave a paper, he had never re- 

 fused Mr. Godson's inspecting any accounts. He (Mr. Cole) 

 had left a paper at the garden with memoranda of accounts, 

 and Mr. Murray (the Assistant Secretary) was under the 

 impression that Mr. Godson's application Deferred to these, 

 and not to the books of the Society. 



Mr. Godson — Very prettily put. 



Some farther remarks were then made, when Sir Andrew 

 Waugh rose to order. 



Mr. Godson — I speak on the question of resignations. 

 Under the new form of the bye-laws supposing a Treasurer 

 to be appointed in the interval between the annual meetings, 

 the appointment would be illegal, and all cheques signed 

 invalid. He hoped that the mover and seconder of the 

 motion before them would consent to an adjournment for 

 another month. 



Sir Andrew Waugh — If Mr. Godson had any objection 

 to any of the bye-laws he might propose another, and they 

 could debate it. 



The Chairman — If Mr. Godson will move an amendment 

 that would be the quickest way. 



An amendment was then moved and carried — that any 

 casual vacancy by death, resignation, or incapacity, should 

 be filled up by the Council. 



Mr. Godson continued that a greater latitude was given 

 to the Council than before. He would suggest that the 

 whole of the names in the Council should be returned to 

 the annual meeting, -which would give the Fellows at large 

 the opportunity of striking out any three, and that thus 

 the Fellows would have the control ; by the opposite course 

 the power of introducing fresh blood would be nulloed. 



Mr. Thring regretted that it was utterly impossible to 

 carry this proposition into effect. It would amount to 

 ostracising; and he thought the proposed bye-laws only 

 amounted to this — that the Council should have their list, 

 and the opposition theirs. They might then fight it out 

 fairly. 



Mr. Godson — Nothing could be more explicit than the 



old rule ; but he told the Assistant Secretary again, that at 



the last annual meeting the resignations were given in 



j previous to the election, because they were en the minutes 



of the Council. [" Time, time."] 



Mr. Godson — "Time!" He was much obliged to that 

 gentleman who called "Time." He always tried to be in 

 time : he was generally five minutes before his time ; he 

 was too soon for this meeting ; he had been waiting for it 

 ever since half-past twelve o'clock last night. The notice 

 in his Journal was for 2 a.m., and he would have come there 

 at two o'clock in the morning had not some friends per- 

 suaded him not to do so. 



The Assistant Secretary here said that Mr. Godson 

 had a proof-sheet, and that was not the notice. 



Mr. Godson asked for the notice convening the meeting. 

 It should have been read in the first instance. 



The Assistant Secretary said it was in the " Proceed- 

 ings," and in one of the papers. 



Mr. Godson called for the notice. 



Whilst the paper was being sought for, a Member thought 

 there was a bit of quiet satire in bye-laws SI and 83, by 

 which it was provided that vacancies should be filled up by 

 "discreet persons." He thought it would be better to 

 assume that all were " discreet," and strike out the word. 

 [Laughter.] 



The Chairman then read the notice, published in The 

 Journal of Horticulture of December 6th, convening the 

 meeting. 



Mr. Godson — What paper are yon reading from ? 



The Chairman said it was The Journal op Horticul- 

 ture, one of those papers which are very well known, and 

 circulate largely among horticulturists. Its circulation was 

 as large, if not larger, than any paper of its kind, and hor- 

 ticulture was much indebted to it. 



Mr. Godson — And this Society has much to thank it for. 



Some discussion then took place as to proxies ; and Mr. 

 Thring proposed that, Any Fellow holding proxies shall 

 vote as such at a ballot, by annexing by whose appointment 

 the proxies are given. 



After some further discussion, it was moved by Mr. 

 Chester, and seconded by Sir Andrew Waugh, " That the 

 existing bye-laws be repealed, and the new ones adopted, 

 with the alterations, amendments, and additions thereto;" 

 and, this being carried, the same gentlemen moved and 

 seconded, "That the meeting recommend the Council to 

 take steps to get a new Charter." 



Mr. Godson said they had not ,£300 to spend on a new 

 Charter. 



