XVI 
\_CopH  of  a letter  from  the  Societifs  Aeconutuntx.'] 
5 Mooroate  Street, 
London,  E.C., 
April  22,  1904. 
Dear  Sir, 
It  was  stated  in  the  Council’s  Report  to  the  General  Meeting:  of  May 
22,  1903  [see  Journal,  Vol.  t>4,  page  243],  that  it  was  recognised  that  some 
changes  in  the  system  of  accounts  would  be  necessary  for  1903  and  subse(iuent 
years,  and  we  were  invited  to  attend  a meeting  of  the  Finance  Committee 
held  on  the  18th  instant  to  consider  the  form  of  Balance-sheet  to  be  ])resented 
to  the  forthcoming  General  Meeting. 
We  then  submitted  a draft  Balance-sheet  the  form  of  which  was  apj)roved 
by  the  Finance  Committee:  and  for  your  information  and  for  that  of  the 
Auditors,  who  will  presently  be  asked  to  examine  the  accounts,  we  beg  to  offer 
the  following  remarks. 
As  compared  with  those  of  former  years,  the  Balance-sheet  we  now  submit 
is  more  nearly  in  accord  with  the  form  usually  adopted  by  commercial 
undertakings,  and  it  shows  on  the  one  side  the  assets  appearing  in  the  books  of 
the  Society,  and  on  the  other — 
(c/)  The  liabilities  which  have  to  be  discharged  out  of  the  assets 
above  mentioned. 
{h)  The  surplus  resources  of  the  Society,  on  the  assumjjtion  that 
the  assets  are  worth  the  full  amount  of  the  book  figures. 
It  will  be  observed  that  we  have  stated  the  available  capital  at 
12.1407.  17.S'.  M.,  and  that  in  this  has  been  merged  the  whole  of  the  Reserve 
which  in  former  years  has  been  shown  separately  and  has  been  regarded  as 
a fund  set  aside  for  the  purpose  of  providing  the  Lite  IMembers  with  the 
I)rivileges  which  the  Society,  by  its  acceptance  of  their  Lite  Compositions, 
has  contracted  to  give  theni. 
Before  providing  tor  the  depreciation  of  plant,  fixtures,  Ac.,  amounting 
to  2,17.’)/.  7.«.  fk/.,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Society  had  only  3227.  l().v.  2d.  of 
cajiital  left,  so  that  it  is  clear  that  the  Reserve,  even  if  upheld  as  a separate 
fund,  is  already  diminished. 
It  is  true  that,  in  thus  describing  the  position,  we  are  leaving  out  of 
account  the  asset  represented  by  shares  in  Park  Royal  Limited,  but  as  they 
were  accpiired  by  means  of  funds  specially  raised,  we  have  preferred  to  show 
the  special  fund  on  one  side  of  the  Balance-sheet,  and  these  shares  on  the 
other,  in  such  a way  as  not  to  affect  the  figure  of  the  Society’s  available 
cajiital. 
So  long  as  the  Society  had  surplus  funds  over  and  above  the  amount  set 
aside  as  Reserve,  it  seemed  desirable  that  the  latter  should  only  be  diminished 
by  such  annual  contributions  to  Revenue,  as  would  leave  sufficient  in  the 
fund  to  provide  the  estimated  cost  of  the  privileges  to  be  afforded  to  surviving 
Life  Members  ; but  the  j)rivileges  of  Life  Members  must  yield  to  the  claims  of 
the  Society’s  creditors. 
It  seems  to  follow  from  this  that  a contribution  to  Revenue  from  Life 
Members  at  l.’i.v.  per  Member  is,  for  the  year  li»03,  inadequate ; but  we  have 
not  thought  it  right  to  make  any  alteration  until  the  Auditors  have  had  an 
opi)ortunity  of  considering  the  matter  in  accordance  with  the  reijuest  made 
to  them  by  the  Secretary  as  directed  by  resolution  of  the  Council  dated 
December  il,  1!)03. 
At  the  same  time,  we  desire  to  point  out  that  the  whole  ciuestion  of 
the  gradual  extinction  of  the  Society’s  suri)lus  by  the  deduction  of  these 
contributions  re(iuires  early  consideration,  tor  it  seems  obvious  that  this 
depletion  of  the  funds  must  restrict  the  sj)here  of  the  Society's  ojierations 
generally. 
We  are.  Dear  Sir, 
Yours  taithfullv, 
iSiyned)  WELTON,  JONES  A Co. 
Sir  Ernest  Clarke, 
Secretary, 
Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England. 
[7’7)c  lialance-xheet  for  1903,  In  the.  form  nhore  xuejyexted,  wat  xnhmitted  to  the 
Auditors  on  April  2:),  1904,  and  approved  (see  pp.  xii  and  xiii)]. 
