The Express.
London, England, 1849-12-17 00:00:00

ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

From the report adopted at the half-yearly meet-
ing of this society, held on Saturday, as steed in that day's
Express, we make the following extracts;
During the pest halt' year, 2 governors and 189 members
have been elected, 3 governors and 71 members have died,
and the names of 4 governors and 236 members have been
removed front the list. The society now consists of the ful-
bwing numbers • 90 life governors, 173 annual governors,
607 life members, 4,499 annual members, 19 honorary mem-
bers, making a total of 6,388 members. This total amount,
being 124 less than at the former g 1 meeting, does not
ine'icate so much • reduction in the actual members of the
society, as a removal of those names from the list, which
were put down for temporary and local purposes only, at the
early country meetings of the society ; the new members
now joining he society consisting of those steady friends to '
agricultural improvement, who, on higher grounds, take a
permaneut interest in the advancement of its objects, and in
its continued prosperity. The council have directed a new
list of the governors and members of the society to be
printed and published as an appendix to the ensuing part of
the journal.
The council reported at the general meeting in May, last
year, that they bad altered the bye law regulating the week-
day of their ordinary meetings front Wednesday to Linda) ;
they have, however, alter experience of that change, decided
to revert, alter the end of the current year, to the original
day for their meetings, namely, to the Wednesday, as mare
generally convenient to all parties.
FINANCES.—The council hays had under their most
serious consideration the question they have been so
often under the painful nec.ssity of bringing under the
notice of the members—namely, that of the arrears of
subscription remaining unpaid to the society. The
commit have taken every ordinary meats in their power
to awaken the members, front whom these arrears are
du., to a sense of their engagements to the society, by
repeated circular letters, by an attempted as stem of local
collection, by personal communications kindly nude to the
patties by zealous members of the council, by suspension of
their names in the public council room, and in some cases by
applications made to them by the saliciton of the society.
These means having proved successful only to a certain ex-
tent, the council have requested a scrutiny to be made into
the circumstances of the inaivithals who thus n• elect to
comply with the just claims of the society, and they find that
no plea in the great majority of the cases can be set up on
the ground of inability to discharge their obligations—a plea
to which the council have always most considerately at-
tended in the case of those members who from adverse cir-
cumstarmes have unfortunately been un-ble to meet
even the small demands of the society. The coun-
cil have never for an instant eoubted, under all this for-
bearance, the just and legal claim the charter of the society
gave them to recover these arrears in a court of law; but
thinking that many of the defaulters might regard the pay-
ments due from them as simply optional, like theme of an
unchartered club or association, !odd together by motives
merely of personal convenience., and with advantages enjoyed
only while the voluntary subscription is yearly paid, they
conceived that the opinion of eminent counsel on this point,
if obtained and trar omitted to them, would at once remove
such doubts, and lead to the instant payment of the arrears
due. Accordingly, such legal opinion was obtained from
Sir Frederick Tnesiger and Mr. Warren, in the following
terms, and a copy of it add.tesed in a letter by the ch M-
unn of the finance committee to each member in arrear,

namely :
"We can see no difficulty whatever in this case. No
member of the Society can legally cease to be such, simply
by discontinuing the payment of his subscription. By so
doing, he may disentitle himself to the privileges of the So-
ciety, hut unquestionably remains liable to pay ell arrears of
subscription which may be due, till he shall have legally
withdrawn from the Society in the manner provided for in
the bye-laws. The subscriptions are by no means voluntary
donations but legal dues, and, as such, legally recoverable by
the secretary for the use of the society. Every member is
clearly apprised of his legal liab-lities ny the circular sent to
him announcing his election. We are, therefore, of opinion
that none of the grounds suggested in the case are available
for resisting payment of the subscriptions in arrear.—@igned)
FREDERICK THEbIGER, SAMUEL WARRE.Y.—Inner Temple,
May 7,1849."
Of the parties thus addressed, only about one-half favoured
the chairman with an answer, either by paying the arrears
or entering into explanations by way of extenuation of
claim; while the other half, to the present time, have re-
fused him the ordinary courtesy of a reply. Under these
circumstances, the council feel that their duty to the society
places them under the painful necessity of resorting to the
extreme measure of enforcing these payments by moods
issued from the County Courts in their district throughout
the kingdom, against all me inhere who are more than two
years in arrear ; and they have accordingly directed their
secretary to addr. ss a letter to all such members, informing
them that unless the sums due are paid to him by Post-
office order or otherwise, on or before the Ist of February
next, immediate steps will be taken, without further notice,
to recover such sums in the County Court of the district
wherein they respectively reside. The council have in
strutted the finance committee to proceed iu each case in
such order as they may determine, and to retort at each
monthly council the proceedings taken in furtherance of this
order. When it is considered that the admisti in of mem-
ben into the society is made by voluntary request on their
part, and that provision has constantly to be made in advance
by the outlay of a considerable amount of money to meet
and supply their privileges, the council feel assured that the
members of the society will think they have only done their
duty to the body at large by enforcing the regulations
against those non contribmieff members, and by bringing to
• final issue this long pending and agitated question of
arrears ; thus reducing the society to an efficient body of
contributing members, and rendering the income of the
society a definite and legitimate amount, instead of its being,
as at present, from the obstacle of the arrears, a loose
estimate, founded on vague probabilities Red unsettled
claims.
CoUNTRY MEETINGB.—The Norwich meeting of this year
has proved eminently successful, in the amount and charac-
ter of the live stock and implements, as well as in all the ar-
rangements connected with their conveyance and exhibition.
The council have fixed the period fur the Exeter meeting
as the week commencing Monday, the 13th July—Thurs-
day being, as usual, the principal day of the show. They
have also determined the prises to be offered for that meet-
ing, and the various terms and conditions connected with the
competion, all of which will be found detailed in the prise
sheets printed for the occasion, and to be obtained on appli-
cation to the secretary. They have decided not to have •
council dinner at Exeter, but to have a pavilion dinner to
accommodate 900 guests. They have resolved that the
judges of stock shall be requested to commence tneir duties
at six o'clock on the Wednesday morning, instead of nine
o'clock, in order that admission may be given to is spect the
stock on that day by one o'clock in the afternoon, or as
soon after as the judges may Lave delivered in their awards
VETERINARY ltemencrtos.—Tne Council have received
and adopted the ((lowing report from their veterinary com-
mittee :