ROYAL COLLEGE OF VETERINARY SURGEONS. 305 
Mr. Hooper , of Cheltenham, moved the adoption of the 
Abstract. 
Mr. M'Kenna, of Belfast, seconded the motion, which was 
unanimously agreed to. 
Mr. Cherry suggested that, before the election of members to 
fill the vacancies in the Council, it would be well that the 
meeting should know the number of the attendances during the 
past year of those gentlemen who retired, and were eligible for 
re-election: such information, he said, would be valuable, and 
would, in some measure, influence the members in their votes. 
Professor Spooner was of opinion that it would be incon- 
sistent to furnish the information Mr. Cherry desired, unless a 
resolution to that effect had been agreed to by the Council. 
Mr. Mayer wished to know whether all the gentlemen who 
retired were willing to act again ; for, if there were any who 
did not wish to be elected, the members would be throwing 
away their votes by giving them in their favour. 
Professor Spooner said, the subject had been considered at 
the last Council meeting, when the names of those gentlemen 
who were not desirous of acting were omitted from the list of 
proposed members; it was, therefore, to be presumed that the 
gentlemen proposed by the Council were willing to act in the 
event of their being elected. 
The Secretary (being appealed to by Professor Spooner) 
said he was aware of one gentleman not on the list declining 
to act. 
Mr. Mayer asked if Mr. Silvester was willing to serve on 
the Council. 
Mr. Silvester said he would be happy to do so, if elected ; 
but he felt that there were many gentlemen present who had 
far greater claims to the votes of the members, and he should 
be happy to give way to them. 
Mr. Arthur Cherry adverted to the proposal that had been 
made for the number of attendances of members of Council to 
be read. He considered that a general meeting of the body was 
perfectly competent to call for such information, if it desired it ; 
and, if there was any doubt on the point, the question might be 
put to the decision of the meeting itself. 
Mr. Mayer thought it would be only fair, if the list of at- 
tendances was read, that it should be accompanied by a state- 
ment of the reasons for non-attendance on the part of those who 
had been compelled to absent themselves, otherwise erroneous 
conclusions might be formed by the meeting. He (Mr. Mayer) 
had attended only one meeting since his election, but before he 
was elected he gave valid reasons for his absence to the late 
