9 
Mr. Montagu Sharpe proposed that the petition for the 
incorporation of the Society under a Koyal Charter as drawn 
up by the Society’s Committee be approved. He had had the 
honour of being for ten years the Chairman of the Committee, and 
during those ten years the Society had grown, and still was growing, 
and he had not the least doubt would continue to grow and expand. 
Like many other institutions it was originally conceived on too small 
lines, and the result was that at the present moment they found 
themselves with increasing work to do, and insufficient means for 
carrying it out. In 1898 an appeal was made to members of this 
Society to become “ Fellows,” and to subscribe the usual amount 
of one guinea. There were now 132 of such subscribers, but that 
number was insufficient, and he should not be content, and he knew 
his Committee would not be satisfied, until that number reached 
500. The Honorary Treasurer had told them that they had £650 
invested. This should be increased to at least £2000 in order to 
place the finances of the Society upon a satisfactory basis. There 
were about 24,000 members, but they had been enrolled from 
amongst all classes of society, and many could not be expected to 
contribute more than a nominal sum. 
As an educational Society, they had an enormous field of labour 
before them. For the last three years their efforts to establish the 
Bird and Tree Day had been approved. That cost money for 
shields, prizes, and so on, and if it was to be extended, as he hoped 
it would be, until every County had its School Competition shield, 
they must certainly have more means at their disposal. The matter 
was made very much easier now, inasmuch as education was in the 
bands of the County Councils, who also had the framing of the 
Bird Orders, and he had not the least doubt that they would enter 
heartily into the scheme, and give every facility for the elementary 
schools to enter for the competitions. 
A large proportion of the Society’s income was spent in publica¬ 
tions. Since 1896, when the Educational and School Series was 
started, no less than 164,000 copies had been printed and circulated. 
Of general leaflets they had now a series of 48, which were very 
popular, many having been re-published time after time. No less 
than 567,000 had been printed. As regards lists and charts of 
Orders, necessary owing to the action of the various County 
Councils, and minor publications, they had issued 85,000, making a 
total of about 825,000 publications issued since the commencement 
of this Society. When he told them that in addition to all the 
work of this department no less than 27,000 despatches were, 
during 1903, handed in to the post office, they would understand 
that things w r ere pretty busy at 3, Hanover Square. Then there 
were numerous branches in this country and abroad to be com¬ 
municated with, the issue of lantern lectures and lantern slides, 
Bird and Tree papers to be circulated, and essays examined, and 
last year a great deal of time was taken up with the Coastguard 
