xliv 
Monthly Council , March 1, 1905. 
thought he had a right to expect that 
he would be exempt from future ser- 
vice. However, when Sir John very 
properly pointed out that it was of 
vital importance in the interests of the 
Society that the Show of 1905 should 
be carried on, he felt that it was the 
duty of every Member of Council — 
whatever position he occupied — to 
come forward and loyally help to carry 
on the Society’s work. So far as he 
was personally concerned, if it was the 
opinion of the Committee and of the 
Council that his services would be of 
any value to them, he felt that his 
duty was to step into the breach. 
There were, however, one or two con- 
ditions which he thought it would not 
be out of place to mention : firstly, 
that he was taking the office by the 
general — if not the unanimous — wish 
of the Council ; secondly, that he 
should have a fairly free hand in the 
management of the Show ; and, 
thirdly, that he might rely upon re- 
ceiving the assistance of the Council 
both collectively and individually. 
Under these circumstances, and with 
the continuance of good health, he was 
willing to do the best he could. He 
had undertaken these duties in the 
interests of that great Society to which 
many of them were so warmly 
attached. (Applause.) 
Special Charter Committee. 
The President reported that this 
Committee had held a meeting on the 
previous day, and had made further 
progress with the drafting of the bye- 
laws for the election of Members of 
Council under the Supplementary 
Charter, when obtained. 
The Secretary reported the adop- 
tion by the General Meeting held on 
January 11, 1905, of the petition for 
a Supplemental Charter, the sealing 
of such petition with the Society’s 
seal (attested by the signatures of 
Lord Middleton as President, Sir Nigel 
Kingscote as Trustee, and Sir Ernest 
Clarke as Secretary), and its deposit at 
the Privy Council Office. 
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 1905. 
LORD MIDDLETON (PRESIDENT) IN THE CHAIR. 
Finance Committee. 
Sir John Thorold reported that a 
circular had been approved for issue 
to each Member of the Society with 
reference to the county in which he 
desired to be registered for the purpose 
of voting at elections to the Council 
under the new system proposed by the 
Supplemental Charter. This circular 
would be issued to each of the Members 
in the course of the present month in 
the parcel containing his copy of Vol. 
65 of the Society’s Journal, and the 
replies thereto would form the basis 
for the new county registers of Mem- 
bers which would have to be prepared 
in supplement to the ordinary registers 
of Members already kept. The Com- 
mittee presented their recommenda- 
tions as to the arrangements to be made 
for the preparation and maintenance of 
the new county registers of Members, 
which would entail a considerable 
amount of extra work in the office. 
The Committee proposed to bring 
up at the next meeting of the Council 
recommendations with regard to the 
adjustment of the Society’s outstand- 
ing obligations for 1904. 
The Hon. Cecil Parker felt it 
necessary once more to impress upon 
the Council, as he had endeavoured to 
do at the meeting on January 11 
(when he had voted against the 
decision arrived at by the majority), 
the danger of postponing a settlement 
of the Society’s outstanding obligations 
until after the Show at the end of 
next June, when the Council would 
all be dispersed in different directions. 
It was hardly likely that even with 
the financial assistance that had been 
promised to the Society for this year’s 
Show they could do more than pay for 
the expenses of such Show, and there 
might even be a considerable additional 
loss to be met. As matters stood, the 
heavy obligations of 1904 were now 
only temporarily covered by guarantees 
and loans from the Bank, which ex- 
pired absolutely on July 31, when 
such obligations would have to be 
