Deputation to the Board of Agriculture , 
lxxxiv 
IV. -Grounds upon which Appeal 
FOR GRANT-IN-AID IS BASED. 
11. The total annual cost to the 
Society of its Education and Scientific 
Branches, including expenses of print- 
ing and general administration, is not 
less than 2,000?. The losses sustained 
hy the Society in the holding of recent 
annual Shows having greatly crippled 
its resources, the Council have arrived 
at the conclusion that the work of the 
Education and Scientific Branches will 
have to he seriously curtailed unless 
extraneous financial aid he forth- 
coming. They appeal therefore most 
strongly to His Majesty’s Government 
for an Annual Grant in aid of the 
continuation and, if possible, the 
extension of the work, an outline of 
which has been given. 
12. They base their appeal upon the 
fact that these branches are conducted 
as much in the interests of the general 
agricultural public as in the interests 
of the Governors and Members who 
subscribe to the Society. They also 
point out that whilst the Board of 
Agriculture and Fisheries administers 
annually considerable Grants in aid of 
local teaching institutions, and of local 
agricultural experiments and research, 
the Royal Agricultural Society of 
England, whose educational and scien- 
tific research work is national in 
character, receives at present no Grant 
of the kind. It is considered that the 
Society may fairly claim to be placed in 
this respect upon an equal footing with 
other Agricultural Societies and with 
the local University and Agricultural 
Colleges in the various districts of 
Great Britain. 
F. S. W. Cornwallis, 
President. 
IB Hanover Square, W., 
December 6, 1905. 
Lord Moreton, Dr. Gillespie, 
Lord Northbrook, Mr. Bowen - 
Jones, and Sir John Gilmour having 
spoken in support of the Appeal, 
Sir Thomas Elliott, in reply to 
the representations of the Deputation, 
said that, Mr. Fellowes and the Officers 
of the Board had been in consultation 
for some time past as to the position of 
the Royal Agricultural Society and its 
desire for a grant from the Government. 
As a result of the inquiries made, he 
had come to the conclusion that there 
was no prospect of the Treasury mak- 
ing any direct grant to the Society. 
There was, in fact, a disinclination to 
recognise the justice of a claim for a 
subvention from the Imperial Ex- 
chequer towards defraying the cost of 
privileges which were more or less 
confined to a limited class. 
That being so, the Board had con- 
sidered whether there was any way in 
which indirect aid could be given to 
the Society, and in discussing the 
question he would deal with the 
work of the Society under the 
three chief heads which had been 
mentioned. 
The Board believed that the valuable 
work done by the Royal Veterinary 
College constituted an equitable claim 
to assistance from the State, and re- 
presentations on the subject had been 
made to the Treasury, who seemed 
not unwilling to provide the money for 
a grant. At the present time the 
principle was practically acknow- 
ledged, and the only matter in dispute 
was the amount of the grant. The 
Board were very hopeful that a sub- 
stantial sum would be allocated for 
this purpose, and, if they were thus 
able to give a grant to the Royal 
Veterinary College, it would be possible 
for the Royal Agricultural Society to 
withdraw, or considerably reduce, 
their grant of 200?. a year, and so 
diminish, for a time at least, the burden 
of charge upon the decreased resources 
of the Society. 
The Board fully recognise the value 
of the work done by the Royal Agri- 
cultural Society in the direction of 
examinations, and they were strongly 
of opinion that it was most desirable 
to have one central standard exam- 
ination for the whole country. At 
present there were several bodies hold- 
ing examinations at different centres 
with varying standards, and some 
measure of co-ordination was urgently 
needed. The Board believed that this 
could best be achieved by the formation 
of a National Examination Council, on 
which would be represented the Board, 
the Royal Agricultural Society, the 
Highland Society, and the Agricul- 
tural Colleges and Institutions. If 
this could be done he thought the 
Government should contribute a sub- 
stantial sum towards the expenses, 
and that the other adhering bodies 
should each contribute some smaller 
amount. In this way also the funds 
of the Royal Agricultural Society 
would be relieved, since instead of 
spending, say, 250?. a year on the 
examinations it might be sufficient if 
they contributed only 50?. a year. 
