92 
TRE  TRtJWCAL  AGRICULTURIST 
[August  i,  1892. 
be  listened  to  respectfully  at  the  Colonial  Office, 
and  they  have  every  prospeot  of  going  far  amoDg 
the  considerations  which  determine  any  decision 
whioh  may  be  made.  (Hear,  hear.)  It  will  be  my 
duty,  my  oare,  to  maintain  the  influence  which 
the  Association  already  possesses,  and  to  strengthen 
it  as  far  as  possible,  and  to  promote,  by  every 
means  in  my  power,  the  unity  and  harmony  of 
our  deliberations.  Now  in  the  ordinary  course  of 
things  I should  move  the  adoption  of  our  annual 
report,  and  should  give  you  something  of  a sketoh 
of  the  proceedings  during  the  past  year,  and  of 
the  course  to  be  adopted  in  the  coming  year ; but 
considering  that  I have  not  occupied  the  ohair 
for  more  than  five  minutes — (laughter)— I think 
that  it  would  be  more  satisfactory  to  you  gene- 
rally, as  to  myself,  that  that  duty  should  be 
discharged  by  our  Vice-President,  who  has  kindly 
Undertaken  it  ? But  while  he  was  undertaken 
to  move  the  resolution  submitting  to  our 
approval  the  annual  report  of  the  executive 
committee,  the  report  has  one  olause  whioh  I 
cannot  allow  to  pass  out  of  my  hands.  It  is 
that  whioh  expresses  our  sense  of  the  loss  we 
have  sustained  in  the  death  of  Sir  William  Gre- 
gory. I do  not  think  many  words  can  be  required 
to  recommend  that  resolution  to  you.  All,  or  almost 
all,  here  knew  Sir  William  Gregory,  and  all 
who  knew  him  regret  his  loss.  (Hear,  hear.) 
Nor  need  I dwell  at  any  length  now  on  his  oareer- 
With  his  life  as  a member  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
with  his  position  as  an  art  critio  and  a connoisseur, 
we  have  here  no  oonoern.  Neither  have  we  any 
oonoern  with  the  position  which  he  oocupied  with 
London  Society.  But  there  are  ways  in  which 
we  were  specially  concerned.  Sir  William  Gregory 
was  bound  to  us  as  being  a Governor  of  Ceylon 
— the  one  Governor  of  Ceylon,  I believe — who, 
after  he  had  left  that  island,  never  allowed  his 
interest  in  it  to  slaoken  or  grow  cold,  and  who, 
alone  among  all  previous  Governors,  revisited  the 
island  he  had  once  governed  no  less  than  three 
times  after  he  ceased  to  influence  its  destinies. 
Cheers.)  Still  more  is  he  connected  with  this 
Association  as  its  first  Chairman,  and  bb  a 
Chairman  he  was  unrivalled.  (Hear,  hear.)  It 
was  a position  in  whioh  he  was  specially  happy. 
He  was  gifted  with  great  tact:  he  knew  how  to  be 
consulted.  He  brought  business  on,  and  generally 
brought  it  to  a successful  issue.  And  yet  where 
circumstances  made  it  necessary,  he  could  be 
Stoutly  firm.  Most  of  those  in  this  room  have 
known  him  as  a personal  friend,  and  to  those  who 
have  known  him  as  a personal  friend  I need  say 
no  more,  because  they  know  all  that  I know  and 
they  would  say  all  that  I can  say.  The  cordiality 
of  his  kindness — that  ia  the  only  thing  I will  add 
—was  thoroughly  real.  It  was  not  only  a oharm 
of  manner,  but  it  showed  kindliness  of  heart. 
Cheers.)  1 had  a letter  from  him  written  only  a 
ew  days  before  his  death,  on  the  very  night  on 
which  that  seizure  came  to  him.  He  was  then 
aware  that  he  was  in  a very  critical  condition. 
He  was  thinking  of  starting  the  next  day  for 
Marseilles  on  his  way  to  Algiers,  but  he  was 
perfectly  aware  that  it  was  probable  that  he 
would  never  return  from  Algiers,  and  he  said  so 
in  his  letter.  And  in  the  prospeot  of  his  death  he 
/asked  me  to  take  charge  of  various  little  matters 
an  whioh  he  took  an  interest.  Now  every  one  of 
those  was  about  some  little  aot  of  kindness  to 
Somebody  in  connection  with  Ceylon.  Some 
would  call  them  trifles  which  he  might  have 
been  excused  for  forgetting,  or  disregarding 
in  such  oircumstanoes.  It  touched  me  very  much, 
and  I think  it  worth  repeating.  (Hear,  hear.)  To 
you,  gentlemen,  and  to  others  connected  with 
Ceylon  were  his  last  thoughts  turned.  (Cheers.)  But 
if  his  loss  is  grievous  to  us  as  an  Association, 
what  must  it  be  to  the  widow  he  has  left  and 
to  the  boy  he  has  left  without  a father  just  when 
he  is  going  out  into  life  ? I will  now  merely  read 
the  resolution  which  has  been  put  into  my  hand  : 
“ That  this  Association  deeply  deplores  the  death 
of  its  late  President,  the  Bight  Hon.  Sir  William 
H.  Gregory,  k.c.m.g.,  and  desires  to  record  its  grate- 
ful sense  not  only  of  the  servioes  rendered  by  him 
to  the  Association,  and  to  the  taot  and  judgment 
displayed  by  him  as  its  head,  but  also  of  the 
lively  and  unfailing  interest  felt  by  him  in  all 
matters  connected  with  the  well-being  and  progress 
of  Ceylon,  as  well  as  of  the  genial  courtesy  and 
unfeigned  kindness  shown  by  him  to  all  who  came 
from  thenoe.  Nor  can  the  Association  refrain  from 
bearing  its  testimony  to  the  ability  and  suooess  with 
which  he  oonduoted  the  affairs  of  the  Island  as  its 
Governor  and  contributed  to  the  development  of 
its  resources  at  an  important  period  of  its  history.” 
Sir  Arthur  N.  Bibch,  k.c.m.g.,  in  seconding  the 
resolution,  spoke  of  his  long  connection  with  Sir 
William  Gregory,  and  of  the  great  esteem  and 
almost  affection  inspired  by  him.  Sir  William  had 
always  thrown  his  heart  into  his  work  ; he  loved 
Ceylon  and  the  people  of  Ceylon,  His  work  was 
always  done  thoroughly.  (Hear,  hear.)  When  he 
resigned  his  Governorship  of  Ceylon  he  did  not 
resign  his  esteem  for  the  island.  Persons  of  every 
class  and  of  every  creed  had  always  a weloome 
at  St.  George’s  Plaoe.  To  the  last  moment  of  his 
life  he  was  thinking  of  Ceylon.  They  all  mourned 
him  as  a lost  friend,  for  it  was  as  a friend  that 
they  had  regarded  him  in  his  life.  (Hear,  hear.) 
The  resolution  was  oarried  unanimously. 
Sir  A.  H.  Gobdon  then  moved  ; — “That  a copy 
of  the  foregoing  resolution  be  transmitted  to 
Lady  Gregory,  together  with  an  expression  of 
the  sincere  sympathy  felt  for  her  by  the  Association 
in  her  present  bereavement.” 
Sir  George  W.  B.  Campbell,  k c.m.g,,  seoonded 
the  resolution,  which  was  also  oarried  unanimously. 
Mr.  J.  Whittall,  in  moving  the  adoption  of  the 
report,  said : — We  have  embodied  the  labours  of 
the  year  in  this  report.  The  past  speaks  for  itself, 
and  in  the  future  we  have  the  assurance  in  our 
President  that  he  will  only  add  to  the  sucoess  of 
the  Association.  (Cheers.)  I am  glad  to  say  that 
our  numbers  are  increasing,  and,  I hope,  also  our 
usefulness  and  influence.  And,  what  is  still  more 
satisfactory,  our  labours  have  been  appreciated  by 
our  friends  on  the  other  side ; not  only  by  the 
Planters’  Association,  but  by  the  other  public 
bodies  of  Ceylon.  To  our  Executive  and  Tea  Com- 
mittees we  have  to  tender  thanks  for  their  regular 
attendance,  and  for  the  eager  way  in  whioh  they 
nave  tried  to  promote  the  suocess  of  the  Assoeia; 
tion.  (Hear,  hear.)  I do  not  think  it  is  necessary 
for  me  to  add  anything  more,  and,  if  you  have  no 
questions  to  ask,  1 will  propose  that  the  reports 
and  the  statement  of  aooounts  be  accepted. 
Sir  Richard  Cayley  seconded  the  motion, 
Mr.  H.  K.  Rutherford  said  as  one  of  the  Execu- 
tive he  was  afraid  that  the  Committee  would  have 
a blank  report  to  make  to  the  members  at  the 
end  of  the  year,  and  that  they  were  likely  to  be 
in  the  happy  position  of  the  country  that  had 
no  history.  (Laughter.)  He  had  anticipated  that  Mr. 
Whittall  would  have  said  something  as  to  the 
Military  Contribution,  as  this  was  really  the  only 
matter  of  importance  in  the  report.  This  protest 
was  drawn  up  by  Sir  Arthur  Gordon,  and  he 
desired  to  tender  the  thanks  of  the  Executive  and 
the  members  of  the  Association  for  the  very  able 
manner  in  which  this  work  had  been  done  by  their 
new  Chairman.  (Cheers,)  The  report  of  the  Tea 
