liii 
Monday , May 22, 1905. 
that a small Committee, so long as 
it had within it the elements of 
representation, was a very much 
better working body than a larger 
one. As it was, the Council would 
be a very large one, and if the 
amendment were adopted they would 
have sixteen more Members on the 
Council, which would then be a great 
deal too large. He cordially supported 
the original proposal made by the 
Committee. 
Mr. A. W. Perkin spoke against 
the principle of co-opting Members, 
and supported the suggestion that 
their number should be reduced in 
favour of a larger proportion of 
representative Members. 
The President pointed out that 
the Trustees and Vice-Presidents were 
not co-opted Members, but were 
elected annually by the General 
Meeting. It would also rest with the 
future Council to decide whether 
there should be co-opted Members or 
not. He then put the amendment 
moved by Lord Heneage, when there 
appeared twenty-eight votes for it 
and thirty-seven votes against it. 
The amendment was therefore lost. 
The remaining bye-laws, Nos. 79 
to 93, were then passed ; and, on the 
motion of Lord Heneage, a formal 
resolution sanctioning the new bye- 
laws was carried. 
Procedure for Election of Council. 
Mr. James Watt (Carlisle) said 
he would like to see some system 
adopted which would revive the 
interest of the Members of the 
“ Royal ” in the distant counties. 
He understood that the proposal was 
to elect the Members of Council by 
means of voting papers, which must 
be sent out and returned to the office. 
Now that appeared to him to be a 
very quiet and sleepy sort of way, 
especially as on that occasion they 
were making a fresh start. He hoped 
that they would pass a resolution to 
ask the Lords- Lieutenant of the 
different counties, or the Chairmen of 
the County Councils, or any other 
public men, to call a meeting of the 
Members in their own counties for 
the purpose of recommending eligible 
candidates for the position. He 
thought if this was done it would 
create a great amount of interest in 
each county, and a certain amount 
of emulation amongst the Members, 
when this man or that man was a 
candidate for the position. If there 
was nothing of that kind, their 
devolution would not be carried 
sufficiently far, and they would not 
have the return they looked for. If 
the suggestion made by a previous 
speaker had been adopted it would 
have been a great pity, because the 
claim for extra Members on the 
Council would induce Members to 
ask their friends to join the Society, 
but if otherwise that object would be 
defeated. 
The new bye-laws were very well 
drawn, and he thought they were 
ample for carrying on a great institu- 
tion. He hoped the Society would go 
on and prosper, and be more useful in 
the future than in the past ; but they 
must create interest and enthusiasm 
in the distant counties, and give 
Members opportunities for emulation. 
They in the North had much regretted 
that the provincial Shows had been 
given up ; but now that the Society 
had gone to Park Royal, let them 
stick to it. 
The President said that the 
suggestion made by Mr. Watt had 
been in the minds of a good many of 
the Council, who thought that it 
would be a very proper thing for the 
Lords-Lieutenant of the different 
counties to call a meeting of the 
Members in their districts, and nomi- 
nate a Member of the Council at 
that meeting. 
Earl Spencer said that this matter 
had been before him as connected 
with Northamptonshire, and it cer- 
tainly seemed to him that meetings 
of the Members residing in each 
county should be called for the 
purpose of nominating candidates. 
No doubt any candidates so nominated 
would be subsequently elected. 
Mr. S. H. Cowper-Coles referred 
to the application of this suggestion 
to Wales, where the counties were 
grouped into the two districts of 
North Wales and South Wales. 
Vote of Thanks to the Chairman. 
The Rt. Hon. F. J. Savile 
Foljambe then moved a vote of 
