Ixviii 
Monfhh/  Council,  JS^oveinher  2,  1004. 
oil  the  subject  that  day,  or  keep  the 
fund  open  for  another  month  until  the 
December  meeting. 
Sir  Nigel  Kingscote  said  that  in 
view  of  the  statements  that  had 
appeared  in  the  Press  and  elsewhere 
as  to  the  financial  position  of  the 
Society,  and  as  to  paying  off  its 
existing  obligations  before  undertaking 
another  Show,  the  Finance  Committee 
thought  it  right  to  point  out  that 
there  was  ample  margin  in  the  assets 
of  the  Society  for  the  15,000/.  which 
it  had  been  decided  last  July  to  bor- 
low  from  the  bank,  if  and  when 
rerpiired,  on  the  guarantees  of  certain 
of  the  Trustees.  But  as  such  assets 
were  not  immediately  realisable,  the 
Trustees  in  question  had  guaranteed 
the  Society  up  to  the  amount  stated 
until  July  31,  1905,  to  enable  the 
Council  to  have  time  to  consider  the 
Society’s  position,  but  meanwhile  to 
discharge  its  obligations  for  the  last 
Show  and  its  outgoings  up  to  the  end 
of  1904. 
If,  as  had  been  suggested  in  some 
quarters,  the  debts  of  the  Society 
should  be  liquidated  before  any  other 
steps  were  taken,  the  Committee 
desired  to  point  out  that  one  method 
of  accomplishing  this  would  be  by  the 
sale  of  the  Park  Koyal  estate,  which, 
however,  the  Committee  did  not 
recommend.  The  Society  owned, 
through  its  holding  of  all  the  15,000 
shares  in  Park  Royal  Limited,  101 
acres  of  land  at  Park  Koyal  which  the 
original  vendor  was  willing  to  buy  back 
at  the  price  stipulated  in  the  original 
agreement,  viz.,  375Z.  per  acre  (as 
against  250/.  per  acre  paid  by  the 
Society  in  1901),  or  37,875/.  in  all.  In 
addition  there  were  other  properties  at 
Park  Koyal  in  the  possession  of  Park 
Royal  Limited,  which  were  estimated 
to  yield  8,140/.  From  this  total  of 
46,015/.  would  have  to  be  deducted  the 
22,000/.  mortgage  secured  upon  the 
property  and  the  capital  value  (say 
600/.)  of  the  Society’s  obligations 
towards  the  maintenance  of  a road 
adjoining  the  Estate,  thus  leaving  a 
surplus  on  realisation  of  23,415/. 
The  Society  itself  had,  at  Park 
Royal,  plant  (Western  Entrances, 
Pavilions  and  Offices)  estimated  to  be 
worth  2,000/.,  and  timber  valued  at 
2,200/. 
At  Harewood  House,  the  Society  had 
fixtures  standing  in  the  books  at  2,044/., 
furniture  2,390/.  and  pictures  and 
books  1,.500/. ; and  it  jiossessed  13,100/. 
of  the  Harewood  House  stock,  acijuired 
at  a cost  of  13,144/.  Adding  329/. 
machinery,  and  750/.  Pot-culture 
buildings  at  tl’oburn,  the  Society’s 
assets  other  than  those  located  at 
Park  Royal  might  be  taken,  as  a going 
concern,  as  worth  20,157/. 
The  Society  would  at  December  31, 
1904,  owe  its  Bankers  about  12,000/. 
(the  old  loan  of  1 903,  secured  on  the 
Harewood  House  stock),  besides  3,000/. 
(new  Loan  of  1904,  under  the  guar- 
antee of  certain  of  the  Trustees).  It 
had  borrowed  7,500/.  on  a second 
mortgage  at  4 jicr  cent  on  Harewood 
House,  in  order-  to  pay  the  cheques 
due  for  the  prizes  awarded  at  the  last 
Show.  The  interest  accrued  and 
accruing  to  December  31,  1904,  on  the 
above  Loans  was  350/.  and  six  months’ 
interest,  rates  and  taxes,  &c.,  on  the 
Park  Royal  estate  to  March  31,  1905, 
would  amount  to  about  1,000/. 
The  total  assets  of  the  Society  might 
therefore  be  taken  as  47,772/.  (23,416/. 
-f  4,200/.  at  Park  Royal,  20,157/.  at 
Harewood  House  and  elsewhere),  less 
23,850/.  loans  and  obligations,  or  a 
surplus  as  a going  concern  of  23,922/. 
over  its  liabilities. 
After  a long  discussion  in  Committee 
of  the  whole  Council,  in  which  the 
Maniuis  of  (tKAKBY,  Sir  Albert 
Muntz,  M.P.,  Mr.  Stanyforth,  Sir 
Jacob  Wilson,  Lord  Wenlock,  Earl 
Egerton  of  Tatton,  Earl  Cawdor, 
Mr.  Harrison,  Mr.  Pell,  the  Earl 
of  Feversham,  the  Hon.  Cecil 
Parker,  Sir  AValter  Gilbey,  Mr. 
Ransome,  Mr.  C.  AV.  AA’^ilson,  Mr. 
Ralph  Palmer,  Sir  Nigel  Kings- 
cote, Mr.  Martin,  Mr.  Stratton, 
the  President,  Mr.  Crdtchley, 
A’^iscount  Baring,  and  Mr.  Chris- 
topher Middleton  took  part,  it  was 
eventually  decided,  ncm.  dix.,  on  the 
motion  of  Earl  Cawdor,  seconded  by 
the  Hon.  Cecil  Parker — 
That  the  list  of  Subscriptions  in  reply 
to  the  appeal  for  funds  be  kept  open 
until  the  next  meeting  of  the  Council, 
and  that  the  Finance  Committee  be 
requested  to  circulate  amongst  the 
Members  a Memorandum  as  to  the 
actual  financial  position  of  the  Society, 
and  to  endeavour  to  obtain  further  con- 
tributions to  the  fund. 
