Agricultural and Commercial Society. 4S 
business in hand ; and as, soon as possible, I pointed 
out that the subject was not on the agenda paper, and 
that I agreed with Sir Frederic Hodgson that it 
should not have been discussed at all without notice 
having been given, beforehand, of the intention to 
bring it forward. Further, I was aware that the 
whole matter was then under the consideration of the 
Secretary of State. 
4. Mr. Scard is silent in respect of efforts to assist the 
sugar industry of these Colonies, and the tendency of 
his remarks as to the manner of conducting the Con- 
ference, would imply that he regretted that " the whole 
of Saturday was taken up by the sugar part of the 
Conference." As the delegates to whom, he says, the 
subject had no interest made no complaint, it is singular 
that it should come, only, from the representative of 
the British Guiana Koyal Agricultural and Commercial 
Society. 
5. Again, Mr. Freeman's paper on the ''Aloe industry 
of Barbados " was, in spite of Mr. Scard's remark, a 
most interesting one ; as it elicited, in course of the 
discussion, information calculated to be of considerable 
advantage in carrying on experiments now in hand. 
6. I have had the pleasure of welcoming Mr. Scard at 
four Agricultural Conferences held in the West Indies, 
but, hitherto, he has been careful to abstain from tak- 
ing any public part in them, or of affording any assist- 
ance in the discharge of the heavy duties that have, so 
far, fallen upon the members of the staff and myself, 
in connection with them. 
7. Although the attitude, so far, taken by Mr. Scard, 
as also the character of the report which he has just 
presented to your Society are in such marked contrast 
to those of the Representatives of other Agricultural 
Societies present at the Conference, I am not without 
hope of seeing him take a more active part, than 
hitherto, to promote the success of these Conferences j 
F 2 
