xxxviii  Annual  General  Meeting,  December  8,  1909. 
They  had  never  had  a more  painstaking  nobleman  on  their  Board,  and  no  one 
had  taken  greater  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  Society.  He  had  much 
pleasure  in  proposing  a cordial  vote  of  thanks  to  Lord  Jersey  for  his  valuable 
services  to  that  great  institution. 
Mr.  Joseph  Martin  (Littleport)  had  gi’eat  pleasure  in  seconding  the 
motion.  He  thought  it  showed  how  well  Lord  Jersey  was  esteemed  when 
two  ex-members  of  Council  jiroposed  and  seconded  the  resolution.  He  had 
had  the  pleasure  of  serving  on  the  Council  with  his  Lordship,  and  had  always 
found  him  a good  practical  man  of  business,  always  willing  to  do  the  best 
he  could  for  the  Society.  At  the  same  time,  he  hoped  that  he  would  soon 
be  restored  to  health. 
The  vote  of  thanks  was  then  unanimously  passed,  and  the  Chairman  said 
that  he  would  take  care  that  the  expressions  of  Mr.  Sutton  and  Mr.  Martin 
were  conveyed  to  his  Lordship. 
Vote  of  Thanks  to  Chairman. 
Mr.  John  Evens  (Burton)  had  the  greatest  possible  pleasure  to  propose 
that  the  best  thanks  of  the  meeting  be  given  to  His  Grace  the  Duke  of 
Devonshire  for  his  services  in  the  chair  that  day.  They  all  knew  better  than 
he  could  tell  them  the  practical  personal  interest  that  His  Grace  had  taken 
in  the  work  of  the  Society.  They  knew — many  of  them  who  had  been  in 
touch  with  the  Society  for  the  last  year  or  two — the  active  hard  work  that 
he  had  done  for  them.  He  was  speaking  that  day  as  a tenant-farmer  of 
England — at  a time  when  Lords  were  denounced  and  even  Dukes  were  criti- 
cised—and  he  ventured  to  pay  his  tribute  to  the  help  they  had  always 
received  from  noblemen  such  as  the  Duke  of  Devonshire,  who  had  taken  the 
chair  that  day.  (Applause.)  As  a tenant-farmer,  he  held  the  opinion  that 
the  Government  had  not  done  too  much  for  agriculturists  in  England  in  the 
way  of  help,  and  in  any  salvation  they  had  been  able  to  work  out  for  them- 
selves they  had  been  largely  dependent  on  the  help  and  support  of  men  in 
his  Grace’s  position. 
The  Secretary  having  put  the  motion  to  the  meeting,  it  was  carried 
unanimously. 
The  Chairman  begged  to  thank  the  meeting  most  sincerely  for  the  kind 
vote  of  thanks  that  had  been  passed  to  him.  He  wished  he  had  not  been  in 
the  position  of  Chairman,  but  that  Lord  Jersey  had  been  able  to  take  his 
proper  place  as  President  that  day.  He  bad  felt  most  diffident  about  taking 
his  Lordship’s  place,  but  he  had  relied  upon  the  support  of  all  those  present 
at  the  meeting.  It  was  unnecessary  for  him  to  say  how  great  an  interest  he 
took  in  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the  Society.  The  Society  was  not 
merely  run  for  the  purpose  of  finding  amusement  for  a few  landowners,  but 
it  represented  agriculture  in  its  best  and  truest  sense,  and  landowners,  tenant- 
farmers  and  agricultural  labourers  could  mutually  co-operate  and  assist  in  its 
operations.  They  had  to  go  to  the  great  centres  of  industry  in  the  towns  and 
cities  to  hold  their  Shows,  and  he  thought  the  representatives  of  agriculture 
and  commerce  were  mutually  interested,  and  very  often  they  had  oppor- 
tunities of  understanding  one  another  better.  In  going  to  Liverpool  they 
would  be  visiting  a great  commercial  centre  next  year.  For  the  following 
year,  1911,  they  had  received  a most  kind  and  cordial  invitation  from  the 
Eastern  side  of  the  country — from  Norwich  and  Norfolk — to  hold  the  Show 
in  Norwich,  and  he  was  sure,  whether  it  was  East  or  West,  Lancashire  or 
Norfolk,  they  would  all  endeavour  to  co-operate  to  make  the  genuinely  great 
work  which  the  Society  had  done  still  more  useful  and  practical. 
The  proceedings  then  terminated. 
