Stormy S.P.C.A. Meeting

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30588, 3 November 1964, Page 14

Stormy S.P.C.A. Meeting

Miss M. Howard, M.P., was last evening replaced as president of the Canterbury Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals by Mr A. Bullivant. Miss Howard had offered to stand down, and Mr Bullivant was the only nominee.

A few minutes earlier in the society’s annual meeting, attended by about 100 persons, Miss Howard said she ! would not have any underihand working going on while she was in the chair.

The meeting was stormy, and at frequent intervals large sections of the meeting stamped, yelled and clapped. After Miss Howard had declared Mr Bullivant elected, she said that new officers did not take over till the end of the meeting. This led to another verbal storm, but Miss Howard remained chairman. Voting Eligibility

Some of the most heated outbursts occurred when the meeting was considering who was entitled to vote in the election of officers and "how many of last year’s officers should retire or have to submit themselves for re-election. Soon after the meeting began, Miss Howard said that it seemed that some of those present would be disfranchised because they had not been paid-up members for three months. Many present accepted this as a challenge to do battle with Miss Howard, the chairman of the council (Mr D. J. Hewitt) and the society’s secretary (Mr E. W. D. Sparks) for the rest of the meeting. Miss Howard suggested that the annual meeting be postponed for a month to enable persons who joined the society in August to be eligible to vote by complying with the three months’ membership stipulated in the rules. This was strongly opposed.

At the intervals in a series of verbal altercations Mr. Hewitt and Mr Sparks read long lists of persons’ names. One list was of those qualified to vote, another was of those not qualified, and another was of those who should be entitled to vote. In the initial list of persons not eligible to vote, 120 names were read out.

Miss Howard finally ruled that anyone whose name was in the society’s receipt book at August 10 was eligible to vote.

On the question of election of officers, Mr Bullivant read a document which he said had been prepared by Mr P. H. T. Alpers, a solicitor, and said that if the chair did not accept Mr Alpers’s interpretation, the only recourse would be the Supreme Court. In that event the whole society would fold up.

Mr J. Pounsford said that Miss Howard was departing from precedent. All the meeting wanted was that /three council members retire this year, as had happened in the past.

Miss Howard said that the council would get an opinion from a Queen’s Counsel on how the council should be formed, and suggested that the meeting be adjourned for a month till legal opinion could be obtained.

Shortly before midnight, nearly four hours after the meeting began, some of those present began to leave. Immediately before the election of council members the newly-elected president, Mr Bullivant, withdrew his nomination from the list of council candidates. Mr L. Brown also withdrew. Election Result

Successful council candidates were Messrs Pounsford (62 votes), E. L. May (62). T. D. Gribben (61), Mrs L. Moore (59), and Miss A. L. Jamieson (47 votes), The unsuccessful candidates were Messrs R. G. Cottier, who was co-opted to the council last year, S. G- Isherwood, and I. E. Anderson.

Sitting members of the council are Messrs Hewitt, C. W. Oliver, J. C. Walsh, and R. J. Stubberfield. Mesdames E. McNeil and E. M. Sibthnrpe, and Miss Howard. The Mayor (Mr G. Manning) was elected patron, and Sir James Hay vice-president. When the auditor (Mr D. S. Byrne) indicated that he did not wish to be reappointed Mr Bullivant said that this was being “sprung on us,” and suggested that the matter be held over. This was agreed to. Dispute For Q.C. After the annual meeting, the council unanimously agreed that a dispute over the eligibility of Messrs Walsh arid Stubberfield as council members should be resolved by Mr R. Cooke, Q.C., of Wellington, after Messrs Alpers and Hewitt had decided on the facts to be submitted to Mr Cooke. The council agreed that Mr Cooke’s decision would be final. The names of Messrs Walsh and Stubberfield appeared on the ballot papers but were struck out before the papers were issued, after they had said they did not have to resign from the council. Messrs Alpers and Hewitt had submitted conflicting legal opinions on the matter. A report on Mr Cooke’s decision is expected at the next council meeting, to be held on December 14.