23 
But no comparison, however slight, would be complete 
which did not take into account the altered conditions of 
travelling. It is hard to realise at this time what a difference 
railway travelling has made in the character of the stock 
exhibited. Whereas in the earlier days the competition was 
practically confined to the home counties, through the 
difficulties and expense of transit, since the railway system 
has become developed the whole country has gradually been 
brought to take part in the proceedings of the Show, so 
much so, that the competition now almost resolves itself 
into a keen contest between the breeders of the three 
Kingdoms. The comfort also in which animals now travel 
compared with that which ruled in the earlier days, is 
no unimportant factor in the success of later Shows. 
Exhibitors of the present day would hardly like to 
experience the difficulties and hardships of transit en- 
countered by their forefathers. We read of a Devon ox 
being driven 126 miles to the Show in 1805, and as late as 
1840 animals were exhibited which had to be conveyed 
miles by road and canal, as well as by rail, and even 
500 miles by sea. At the present time the splendid 
facilities afforded by the Railway Companies, by means of 
special vehicles travelling by fast passenger trains, enable 
animals to be brought the longest distances—from the 
ee of Scotland—with the minimum of discomfort and 
oss. 
With the Centenary Show the first great stage of the 
Club’s existence may be said to have ended. The com- 
mencement of a new century of its existence appeared to 
the Council to be a fitting opportunity for making a change 
in its constitution, the old organization, originally con- 
stituted on the basis of a social club, not being in keeping 
with the national character of the Society. The following 
proposal was accordingly made at the May Council Meeting, 
1899, on the motion of Mr. C. W. Tindall :— 
** That in view of the Smithfield Club having now entered upon the 
Second Centenary of its existence, it appears desirable that a 
Special Committee should be appointed to inquire into the 
whole subject of its present constitution and administration, 
and report to the Council whether any, and if so what, changes 
would in their opinion conduce to its extended usefulness in 
the future.” 
