The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-14 00:00:00

Acclimatisation Society of Great Britain.

A special meeting of the Council was held at the office, 3,
Duke-street, Adelphi, on Wednesday last, at 3 o'clock.
Present—Messrs. W. Hawkins, J. Stone, F. Francis, J.
Bush, J. Crockford, F. Buckland, and James Lowe. Mr.
Hawkins presided.

The minutes of the previous meeting having been read
and confirmed, Mr, Francis read the following memoran-
dum :
Memorandum of Propositions, &c., with respect to the Pis-
cieultural 'Establishment.
Having already made a definite proposition to the society
in writing in respect to the above, and been asked to set
down the probable cost and its results, I proceed to do so.
The cost of the shed, cistern, apparatus,
estimate, about £lOO. There will be also about £lO required
for nets, &e , for the purpose of taken fish.
The rate for water will be £lO a year. An attendant will
be required. In the first instance, I would propose to engage
the man only for four months, if I can obtain him upon
such terms, leaving it optional with the society whether at
the end of that time they think their prospects fair enough
to continue him on. I would propose that his wages be 255.
a week.

The chief difficulty which I have is in estimating what the
travelling expenses of the man will amount to when he is out
collecting ova. Besides his own expenses there are keepers
and assistants to fee and feed. If I had merely a
certain amount of trout, or of trout and grayling ova to
obtain, I could, from the experience of others, give some
approximation to the sum required, because I know exactly
how far off the men would have to go, and there is compa-
ratively little difficulty in obtaining the ova—the fish being
more plentiful, and the streams they are found in smaller
and easier to net ; but with the salmon ova the task is much
more difficult. We might be able to get some in Wales,
but, should heavy floods occur there, we might have to send
to Scotland, or even Ireland. With good fortune and a
good season we might get what we require perhaps for £7O
or £80; with a bad one, it might cost double the sum.
Having no data to go upon, I do not see how I can give a
nearer result. I can only say that whatever funds are en-
trusted to my care will be dispensed with a due regard to
economy, and that if the society have any doubt of this, it
world be better that they should decline my offer. I offer
them my terms, I offer them a site, and I offer them a con-
siderable and valuable connection; and if upon this they
consent to accept my offer, they must be content to trust
me to a certain extent. They should remember that my
reputation is even more concerned in the success of the
scheme than theirs. lam induced to make these remarks
because one of the members at the last council asked what
control the society was to have in this matter. In the first
place I would point out that the society hold the purse, and
therefore have the strongest possible control in that way ;
and they have, I suppose, the power of severing our con-
nection at any time if it seems desirable to their to do so.
I would advise, however, that in order that they may be
kept au fait to what is going on, Mr. Buckland be made
a visiting inspector of the branch, and bo requested to re-
port monthly to the council what progress is made in it. I
should, however, wish it to be most clearly understood that
I would object to any interference with any internal ar-
rangement which I might make for the carrying out of the
operations. As a set-off to the above expenses I may state
that I have some 46 promises of subscriptions, 43 of which
are reliable names which may bo safely counted upon ; the
other three I cannot speak so confidently upon, although
they have promised me their support, and I have little
doubt when I can see them I Khali obtain it. Amongst
these subscriptions are three life members at £lO 10s, and
one donation of
the first year's receipts, as far as we have them down as yet,
will stand : £5 ss, in addition to subscriptions. Thus

Three life meniberi and one donation £36 15 0
42 0 0
Forty annual subscriptions

own friends and acquaintance. £73 15 0
Added to this, Lord Walsingham has promised to increase
his subscription.
This is the result of ono month's canvassing amongst my
been touched, and this during the month from told-August
The public has as yet hardly
to mid-September, when almost everybody interested in this
subject is away shooting, strikes me as a very satisfactory
result. I make no doubt but when the subject begins to
be stirred and talked of, the list will be at least doubled.
The above money will almost meet the first outlay for plant,
&c. The annual subscriptions, however, will, it must be
cover
exerses w,
whatever
be set upon n,
remembered, remain after the first year to help to meet the
current expenses. The prices at which the ova will be sold
to the
all subscribersp i
may
a be, that the society
sliding scale, so as to
may incur. For example, let us suppose that we obtain
100,000 ova (which is a very small quantity be it observed),
we calculate the entire expenses of the establishment and
sell ova so as to leave 25 or 30 per cent. profit. The value
of such ova in the market would be about £3 or £6 a thou-
sand; fry was worth £lO a:thousand. Now at £2 per thou-
sand the ova would realise £200; at £2 10s, £250; at £3,
£3OO, and soon; and anything under £3 would bo very rea
eonable. With respect to the profit, and any share I might
have in it, a question was asked at the last council as to the
profits, and I then afforded an explana. ion which I here re-
peat. The question arose thus. When first the plan was
talked of, Mr. Lowe, in talking over the terms, &0., pre-
posed that I should get up the establishment and carry it,
out for the society, and that whatever profit arose from the
sale of the ova should be divided between the society end
myself. I presume that he imagined the arrangement a
reasonable one, in consideration of my giving the site, time,
and connection, So.
But it appeared to me that the matter
i,--
preferredwould
waiving h
be rather
tf
o forr that ttaht fit year, firster
s
and leaving
it for subsequent consideration.
I think I have here explained, as far as I am able, every
point that has
been questioned or discussed, or Which re-
quired to be explained.
The matter having been fully discussed, the following
resolution was unanimously agreed to :-
61 That Mr. Francis's memorandum be received, and
that he be authorised to erect a building and apparatus for
fecundating and hatching fish ova on his premises at
Twickenham, at an expense not exceeding £lOO, upon the
terms mentioned in his memorandum (such
apparatus to
remain the property of the society); and that he be autho-
rised to engage a man to assist in such operations for a
period of 16 weeks, at a salary of 255. per week; and that
he be authorised to spend £lO for the first year for the
supply of water to the apparatus, and £lO for the nets, on
behalf of: the society ; and that Mr. Francis; be further
authorised to incur such expenses as to him, Mr. Hawkins,
seem fit and proper; and that, in case
ion among them as to the amount of
matter be referred to the council for
announced that the increase of funds which
ar'dFarlarenacdisyobtained for the society on account of the
such
unf
cdh M
differencee
xr p. Be
:us se Bush : xi an t
pahi)enr
decision."
hel‘hi
projected piscicultural branch amounted already to between
£7O and LSO.
This was only the result of a public meeting
held at a period of the year when most of the gentlemen
interested in sporting Were out of town. He had no doubt
that if the Piscicultural operations of the society wore
prosecuted,
vigorously the amount of support would be
much greater.
Lord Walsingham, stating that
po
and the secretaries were directed to reply
h toe Awould
pisciculture; leter
bee "be
glad to increase his subscription to the society,
if, as s has n
proposed,
read fromse
they should turn their attention
to his lordship, thanking him for his offer, and intimating
that, inasmuch as the experiment was somewhat perilous
to the small funds of the society, any further pecuniary aid
h ainckh hislly d
edP blight be disposed to render would be
fu
gratefully acknowledged, and prudently
expended. 1
twhlroercesilivi,

Collision on the Glasgow and South-western

Railway.

On
o il
tl:t:pe one.
nyi-glhadten luggage trains at Mauchline station,
whereby
of Thursday collision occurred between
man was killed and several others had a nar-
row
eThe railway between Kilmarnock and Auchin-
leck station is at intervals on a slight incline, and between
these. two stations two engines are generally employed for
trams which on other parts of the line require but ose. On
the night mentioned a train, consisting of above 30 trucks,
passed along,
and on coming to Auchinleck stopped to take
on more trucks. There were two guards with this train,
one of whom was on one of the engines and the other in the
van at the end of the train. The former uncoupled some of
the waggons to admit there to be taken on, and it was the
duty of the latter to put on the break at his end of the
train. There is reason to believe, however, that he was
gathering
asleep, and on the couplings being loosened the latter part
engines. A collision occurred, and the
of the train commenced to run down the incline. It ran,
nearing Alauchline station, when it was met by another
train drawn by two
velocity as it went, for about four miles, and was
/ van of the runaway was smashed to atoms, the guard,
whose name was Woods, being crushed to death. The first
engines escaped by
engine of no second train was thrown on its side, the
nearest waggons of the other train being thrown over
it. The drivers and firemen of the
springing off at the moment the collision took place. Ono
of the latter, however' in jumping off, was struck by a fly-
ing splinter and thrown back on the tender. He was not
injured. The guard, it is said, resided in Carlisle, and had
been at Paisley at his father's funeral, and it is probable
might have had little rest for some time, and been unable
to resist the temptation to sleep. Besides the van, the
engine is injured, and eight or nine of the trucks and their
contents are very much damaged. The traffic was stopped
till morning, when the rubbish was removed. The railway
at the place is being relaid, and the traffic is done on tho
single line system. It is providential that the second train
had reduced its speed to about four miles an hour. If it
had been moving at ordinary speed it is li',i,ely the results
wvuld hive been mu() terrible,