February  10,  1898. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
131 
Lr. 
ANNUAL  EEVENUE  AND  EXPENDITURE  ACCOUNT 
£  s.  d. 
To  ESTABLISHMENT  EXPENSES - 
Salaries  and  \Yages 
Rent  of  Office  ...  . 
Printing  and  Stationery 
Journal — Printing  and  Postage 
Postages .  . 
Coal  and  Gas  . 
Donations  to  Auricula  and  Primula  Society 
Miscellaneous . 
Commission  on  Advertisements 
Painting  Orchids  . 
„  VICTORIA  MEDAL  OF  HONOUR  ... 
„  SHOWS  and  MEETINGS— 
Rent  of  Drill  Hall  and  Cleaning 
Temple  Show . 
Crystal  Palace  Fruit  Show  . 
„  PRIZES  and  MEDALS— 
Rose  Show  . 
Committee  Awards,  &c . 
Expenses  Floral  Meetings  and  Conferences. 
Labour  . 
„  CHISWICK  GARDENS— 
Rent,  Rates,  Taxes,  and  Insurance  ... 
Superintendent’s  Salary  . 
Pension,  late  Superintendent . 
Labour  . 
Implements,  Manure,  Soil,  Packing,  &c. 
Coal  and  Coke . 
Repairs . 
Water  and  Gas . 
Miscellaneous . 
„  Balance  to  General  Revenue  Account 
£ 
s. 
d. 
685 
5 
0 
173 
3 
0 
209 
8 
11 
605 
19 
8 
99 
15 
3 
5 
4 
8 
10 
0 
0 
105 
12 
3 
28 
14 
6 
37 
11 
0 
104 
15 
0 
609 
19 
7 
254 
3 
1 
37 
5 
0 
371 
10 
2 
40 
14 
4 
76 
4 
6 
237 
8 
3 
200 
0 
0 
180 
0 
0 
759 
1 
5 
123 
11 
0 
184 
15 
0 
80 
12 
1 
12 
3 
5 
73 
14 
11 
FOR  THE  TEAR  ENDING  IDECEMBER  31st,  1897. 
1960  14  3 
174  14  3 
968  17  8 
525  14  0 
Cr. 
By  ANNUAL  SUBSCRIPTIONS 
„  SHOWS  AND  MEETINGS- 
Temple  Show  . 
Crystal  Palace  Fruit  Show  ... 
Drill  Hall  Meetings  . 
,,  ADVERTISEMENTS  IN  JOURNAL 
„  SALE  OF  JOURNAL  . 
„  MISCELLANEOUS  RECEIPTS 
„  DIVIDENDS— 
Davis  Bequest  and  Parry’s  Legacy 
Consols,  £1750  . 
Local  Loans,  £500  . 
„  INTEREST  ON  DEPOSIT 
„  PRIZES  AND  MEDALS . 
„  CHISWICK  GARDENS— 
Produce  sold  . 
Admissions  ...  . 
Miscellaneous . 
£  s.  d. 
1262  14 
235  7 
30  9 
£  s. 
.3824  12 
1528  11 
323  0 
36  9 
40  8 
56  18 
.46  0 
14  10 
117 
15 
60  12 
d* 
6 
5 
4 
9 
6 
326  18 
2  19 
27  5 
357  3  3 
£6303  13  7 
1851  6  1 
5481  6  3 
822  7  4 
£6303  13  7 
We  have  examined  the  above  Accounts,  and  find  the  same  correct. 
(Signed)  HARRY  TURNER  1  . 
JAMES  H.  VEITCH  J  Auditors. 
HARPER  BROS.,  Chartered  Accountards, 
m  January,  1898.  lO,  Trinity  Square,  E.C. 
BALANCE-SHEET,  31st  DECEMBER,  1897. 
To  SUNDRY  CREDITORS . 
,,  SUBSCRIPTIONS,  1898,  paid  in  Advance 
„  ADVERTISEMENTS,  1898,  paid  in  Advance 
„  LIFE  COMPOSITIONS,  31st  December,  1896 
Do.  do.  1897 
„  VEITCH  SPECIAL  PRIZES  . 
„  CHISWICK  SCHOLARSHIP  . 
„  GENERAL  REVENUE  ACCOUNT— 
Balance,  1st  January,  1897  . 
Less  Bad  Debts ... 
,,  Balance  for  the  year,  1897,  as  per  Revenue  and 
Expenditure  Account . 
£ 
s. 
d. 
£ 
s. 
d. 
£ 
8. 
d. 
58 
2 
8 
By  SUNDRY  DEBTORS— 
94 
10 
0 
Annual  Subscriptions  outstanding,  estimated 
7 
6 
3 
# 
•••  •••  •••  •••  ••• 
15 
15 
0 
101 
16 
3 
Garden  Produce 
21 
9 
8 
370 
4 
0 
Auvertisements . 
94 
17 
9 
178 
10 
0 
Rates  and  Taxes  (Chiswick)  paid  in  Advance 
21 
15 
10 
548 
14 
0 
Interest  on  Local  Loans  . 
3 
12 
6 
30 
0 
0 
25 
0 
0 
„  INVESTMENTS— 
2f  per  cent.  Consols,  £2122  8s.  9d.  cost 
1892 
11 
3 
3755 
0 
9 
(£2022  8s.  9d.  of  this  sum  is  held  by  the 
2 
2 
3 
Society,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  the 
will  of  the  late  J.  Davis,  Esq.) 
:3752  18 
6 
2f  per  cent.  Consols,  £1750  cost 
1768 
5 
0 
3  per  cent.  Local  Loans,  £500  „ 
557 
11 
0 
4575  5  10 
£5338  18  9 
We  have  examined  the  above' Accounts,  and  find  the  same  correct. 
(Signed)  HARRY  TURNER  \ 
JAMES  H.  VEITCH  §  -Auditors. 
HARPER  BROS.,  Chartered  Accountants, 
Zth  January,  1898.  10,  Trinity  Square,  E.C. 
£  8.  d. 
157  3  9 
CASH  AT  LONDON  AND  COUNTY  BANK— 
4218  7  3 
On  Current  Account  . 
.  160 
13 
8 
On  Deposit  Account  . 
.  800 
0 
0 
CASH  IN  HAND— 
Head  Office  . 
.  2 
11 
1 
Chiswick .  . 
.  0 
3 
0 
963  7  9 
£5338  18  9 
THE  GARDENEHS’  ROYAL  BENEVOLENT 
BALLOT. 
I  NOTK  with  some  interest  the  remarks  in  your  last  issue  by  “  A.  D.” 
on  the  above  Institution,  but  I  must  confess  that  my  feelings  are  by  no 
means  in  harmony  with  his  ideas  when  he  says,  “  In  that  case  signing 
would  be  needless,  &c.”  Voting  papers  are  sent  out  to  all  subscribers, 
and  should  be  a  reminder  as  to  whether  they  have  or  have  not  paid  their 
dues.  People  are  forgetful  in  these  matters,  and  it  would  be  very  hard 
for  a  willing  person  to  be  passed  by  for  the  sake  of  the  cost  of  a  reminder 
to  give  him  that  opportunity  which  would  entitle  him  to  his  vote,  and  his 
signature  is  a  guarantee  that  he  is  living  and  exercises  his  right  in 
voting.  If  papers  were  allowed  to  be  filled  up  without  a  signature,  anyone 
might  return  them,  and  the  rightful  owner  be  quite  ignorant  of  the  fact  ; 
also  you  may  have  a  fair  number  filled  up  after  the  owner  was  dead  and 
the  Committee  know  nothing  about  it.  It  is  just  as  reasonable  to  say, 
“  I  have  got  another  man’s  chec^ue  and  will  fill  it  up,  take  it  to  the  bank, 
and  expect  to  get  the  money  without  his  signature.”  I  must  confess  that 
I  fail  to  see  in  what  way  “  A.  D.”  is  justified  in  describing  the  ballot  “  a 
sham  one.”  I  have  attended  two  annual  meetings,  and  have  not  seen  the 
least  cause  to  find  fault  with  the  way  the  business  is  conducted.  What 
does  he  mean  ? 
There  is  one  thing  in  the  voting  that  I  think  the  subscribers  to  the 
Institution  must  have  lost  sight  of — namely,  the  miserable  support  they 
]  have  given  to  one  of  their  Vice-President’s  candidates.  Of  the  forty-four 
candidates  approved  we  must  admit  they  one  and  all  are  worthy  of  our 
'  sympathy,  and  it  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  Institution  is  not  in  a 
I  position  to  give  them  that  support  they  stand  in  need  of.  It  is  equally  to 
be  regretted  that  the  whole  of  these  candidates  did  not  see  the  wisdom  of 
supporting  the  Institution  in  earlier  life.  In  glancing  over  the  list  of 
non-successful  candidates  we  find  two  commenced  to  subscribe  to  the 
i  Institution  at  the  age  of  seventy-four  years,  three  at  sixty-nine  years,  one 
at  sixty-two  years,  and  seven  at  the  ages  of  fifty-one  to  fifty-eight  years, 
and  the  others  not  at  all,  excepting  in  the  case  of  widows  whose  husbands 
i  have  subscribed,  one  eleven  years,  one  nine  years,  one  eight  years,  one 
seven  years,  and  one  one  year.  Of  the  above  there  must  have  been  at 
j  least  six  that  felt  themselves  on  the  doorstep  of  the  Institution  before 
!  they  commenced  to  pay  at  all,  and  also  found  the  Gardeners’  Royal 
Benevolent  Institution  the  only  harbour  of  refuge  to  keep  them  out  of  the 
[  workhouse,  and  by  paying  two  or  three  pounds  they  would  have  a  claim 
;  on  the  Institution  for  so  doing,  and  their  benevolence  points  to  themselves, 
as  they  could  only  hope  and  expect  to  have  their  money  returned  a 
thousandfold. 
!  We  are  all  glad  to  sail  into  any  port  in  a  storm,  and  doubtless  that 
[  must  have  been  their  feeling,  but  if  the  Institution  were  dependent  on  the 
j  like  of  these  subscribers  and  non-subscribers  it  would  quickly  vanish, 
hence  the  question  arises.  Who  are  the  mainstay  and  backbone  of  the 
Institution  ?  Why,  the  donors,  who  hand  over  their  money,  knowing 
