Ixxviii Anniversarij Meeting of Governors and Memlers. 
two years in succession of the Joint 
Parliamentary Committee on Eailway 
Rates, said that the thanks of the 
community were due to his Grace for 
having undertaken such an office at 
all ; and they had no business or right 
to question the reasons which had in- 
duced him to take the course he did 
in the Council of this Society. He 
was quite sure the noble Duke had very 
good reasons for what he had done, 
and was perfectly able to defend 
himself, lie thought it only due to 
the Duke that some remark should 
be made as to the value of his ser- 
vices in presiding over so difficult 
and technical a Committee. 
The Earl of Belmoee remarked 
that he knew as a matter of fact 
that the Duke of Richmond's duties 
as Chairman of the Committee last 
year came to an end in July. The 
Committee was reappointed this 
}'ear, but was not constituted exactly 
as before. Last j'ear, he (Lord 
Belinore) was upon the Committee ; 
this year he was not. The Com- 
mittee of last j'ear had finally re- 
ported, and was not now sitting. 
Mr. Baeham withdrew the state- 
ment which he had made in refer- 
ence to the Duke of Richmond's 
Chairmanship of the Joint Com- 
mittee, and the subject then 
dropped. 
No other member deshing to offer 
any remarks. Sir William Vincent 
moved a hearty vote of thanks to the 
noble President for presiding over the 
meeting that day. His Lordship had 
rendered such distinguished services 
in the cause of agriculture, and had 
shown such great interest in, and 
devoted himself so much to the work 
of the Society, that he was quite sure 
that upon these two grounds the vote 
of thanks would be given with great 
cordiality. 
Mr. R. Heney Rew seconded, and 
the motion having been carried by 
.acclamation, 
The I’EESiDENT, in reply, thanked 
the meeting extremely for the kind 
manner in which the motion had been 
received. It had afforded him satis- 
faction to have h.ad the honour of 
presiding over that meeting as Presi- 
dent of the Ro3’al Agricultural Society. 
He wished, before he sat down, to 
cordially endorse the views which 
had been expressed by the noble Duke 
with regard to the action of the 
Board of Agriculture in the suppres- 
sion of cattle disease in the countrj'. 
He, as a breeder of shorthorns, felt 
that his acknowledgments, and the 
acknowledgments of all those con- 
nected with the breeding of cattle, 
were certainly due for the very suc- 
cessful action which Mr. Chaplin, as 
President of the Board, had taken for 
the suppression of cattle disease, 
especially since the outbreak of foot- 
and-mouth disease. He thought that 
the reference in the Report did not go 
bej’ond the facts of the case. He 
hoped that the result of the energy 
and zeal of the President of the Board 
of Agriculture would bear good fruit, 
and that before long the country 
would be relieved from the horrible 
disease of foot-and-mouth. Of course, 
he quite concurred in the importance 
of the subject of railway rates. He 
quite agreed with his noble friend Lord 
Ravens worth that his Grace the Duke 
of Richmond had only acted upon the 
highest motives. He (the President) 
was one of those who differed from 
him. He confessed he did not see 
anj' objection to subscribing a sum to 
the Mansion House Association ; but, 
of course, that subject would be con- 
sidered, as well as any other sugges- 
tions which had been made that day 
by the Council. He thought he might 
congratulate them upon the general 
position of the Society. He had no 
doubt it was doing a gre.at and suc- 
cessful work. British agriculture at 
that moment did require, no doubt, 
every assistance which that or any 
other Society could afford it. He 
thought they might s.ay that the 
agriculturists of this country were 
appreciating the work of the Society, 
since they had a satisfactory increase 
in the number of members, as their 
Report showed. Their great Show, 
which was to t.ake place next month, 
might be regarded indeed as a school 
of agriculture in itself. And the 
quarterh'' numbers of their Journal 
deserved to be studied by eveiy 
British farmer. He was convinced 
that if the farmers of this country 
studied the information which their 
Journal was designed and intended 
to give, great advantage and benefit 
would result from the operation of 
the Society. 
The proceedings then terminated. 
