THE ACOLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4538, 12 March 1872, Page 3

THE ACOLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

*- Thb monthly meeting^ d|^the Aucllan< *> Acclimatisation wif %eld yestbrda; i - forenoon in the offices of thb Society, t Theri it were present— Mensra^Jß Farmer , (in tfa< chair), Burtt, Murdoch,^?. EarleVH. Chain J. Berlin, T. B. Gillies, W.'ft Palmer, S » Jones, J. Williamson, and Dr. Campbell !e! e An ExPLANATioir.-~Thoij;*e6fet«ry r befbr« the ■ business . of the . meetingtbegan, wishec Q to make a personal 'expfanationr At th< ' r last meeting some remarks had been mad< * I to the effect that he (the secretary) had con' jjj siderably interfered with the Cnratorw th« I gardens'. He had never given any^instruc I tions to the Onrator, or interfered- with hit c operations in any way, or made any ferric tions to his operations. The reason 5 why the garden was not in such t I good condition as could be desired was be. ? cause, owing to circomstance/L,,over wJucl Mr. Abercrombie had no control, he was late 1 in getting in hj§ .summer plants, and the ex3 cessively dry and Varm weather set in, • which never allowed tKemto get rightly under way.' It should also be remembered [ that he had no water in the gardens, and, in . consequence, he had to p employ the men in c bringing water from the Domain. Hewonld 1 deny in the most positive manner possible 1 that he had in any way interfered with the ; management of the gardens in. the charge of the Curator. I Motion fob Exclttdln4 the Press Dbr fbated. — Mr. Murdoch said there was one ) other matter which he would like to have i discussed before the regular business of the ■ meeting was commenced. He referred to : the exclusion of the representatives of the Press. He had had reason fco j-egret that . the old resolution on that subject had not , been adhered to.-" At one time the accounts of the Council ncTeetings" were furnished by the Secretary, and he would like to see that plan again adopted. Trifling things had reported, and had appeared not only; in the local papers, but in the different papers in the colony and in Australia. Before making any further remarks he would ask : Is there a resolution of the Council rescinding the former resolution? — The Secretary replied that the resolution referred to by Mr. Murdoch had been rescinded By a formal resolution of the Council. On March 7, 1870, it was resolved that the reporters be requested to attend the meetings of the Council of the Society as usual. — Mr. Murdoch was still of opinion that a report of the business transacted at the meeting of the Council should be furnished to the newspapers by the Secretary, and that the old resolution should be adhered to. He moved a resolution to that effect. — Mr. BUrtt said no doubt sometimes some indiscretion might be shown in reporting matters which had better not be reported, but he thought it would be a great injury to the Society to exclude the reporters. The^public were greatly interested in the proceedings of the Society. The Society was spending the money of the public, and, as the public were not admitted to their meetings, it was but right that the members of the Press should be admitted as the representatives of the public. — The Chairman : But the resolution has not been seconded. Does any one second Mr. Murdoch's motion ?— Dr. Campbell seconded the motion, so that the discussion might-go on. — Mr. Burtt continued his remarks. As the public were not admitted to their meetings, and as it was the funds of the public they spending, not merely their private subscriptions, the Press ought to be admitted. The only objection that was urged against their admission was that twaddle had been reported. Well then, the members had the remedy for thab in their own hands. They should not talk twaddle at their meetings. If discussion was rightly and justly carried on, he had no fear as to leaving the reporting of it to the judgment of the reporters.— Dr. Campbell thought the presence of the reporters might prevent free discussion. — Mr. Murdoch was of the same opinion. He would not speak upon many things he would otherwise do if the repor"te'ra were admitted and his remarks taken down. It would prevent free discussion, a thing which was required in their meetings. — Mr. Jones said the whole thing should be left to the discretion of the reporters, who would use their own judgment as to what should be reported.— Mr. Murdoch referred to the remarks made by Mr. Tonks relative to the silkworm as an instance of indiscretion on the part of the reporter. — Mr. S. Jones did not see the matter in the same light as Mr. Murdoch, affair let the outside public know what was going on at their meetings. He thought that had rather a good effect than otherwise. If the Society received the funds of the public, the public had a right to know what was being done. If their meetings were not to be reported, ho<y were the public j to know who was doing his duty* amongst them ? The annual meeting was about to be j held, and, when the public were' asked to vote the members for the ensuing year, how could they select the best men unless the me 3 tings of the past year had been reported ? He had seen the Acclimatisation Society at Melbourne, and attended their meetings, and in every case he saw a reporter there, and every word was taken down. Dr. Black was a great man there upon acclimatisation matters, and all his remarks were made public, and were useful for future reference. If reporters were not admitted, that could not be dove, and the advantages of such a learned man amongst them would be lost to the public. If Dr. Black or any other similar gentleman were to visit the Auckland Society, and be admitted to their meetings, he might give a vaab amount of information in a speech of but 15 minutes' duration. Tho rev porters would take all that down in ehorthand, it would be published, and it would be of future use to the Society ; but if the reporters were not present, it would soon be forgotten, and the information lost. He was decidedly of opinion that they ought not to hold their meetings without the Press being represented at them.— Mr. Williamson said, if the old resolution were adhered to, a report would be furnished ,to the newspapers by theSecietary. The annual meeting 1 would soon be heldj and any party interested in the Society's doings could then be present. He understood the Secretary would furnish a full report.— Mr. Jones said that was simply bringing the discussion down to this .point, the reporter against the Secretary, , or the Secretary against the reporter. He failed to see why the judgment of the reporter should not be relied upon as much as the judgment of the Secretary, as to what should be reported. Reporters were gentle*, men of education, were accustomed to that kind of work, and when occasion required could take in shorthand every word that was s<»id. If they did not like to have twaddle reported— well, then—they should not talk twaddle. The reporting every word that was said would cause the members to take greater care in what they did say, and more interest would bo taken in the Society by the public— Mr. Burfct , baid], ib was nonsense for 1 them to imagine they could get, their Secretary to take down an important speech in shorthand, and r that, was frequently done by reporters,- Mr,* Gillies considered that it would be' a great mistake to exclude' itHe' reporters. Their, presence- at the Council meetings would be a very* good, .risaspn why the member's, should hot talk twaddle. Many members of the.. Council . might not find, it .possible "to attend every "meeting^; and iemarks mightf be made at tthe meetings* which; ifrttuVd* rfot 2 be 3 ?put on record. ' ' It was* true everyXmejnber could mow what w«j dpne : at any^paHiculafr' meetiif|by referjdngvto thejwiniltesjjfep'irftmany instances 'remarks might 'be^tnade* c at- one r meeting which other* ab«e%t'^inembera r ni!gEt: wisTFto feply^to? 1 ! H&&se^ffth!Jj^ markii were made, hocoMdino^^o^Oftft 1 'tfcnrf&llir "took- 1 ttfeluadlnF? points^ in a de||^|€af^h^p|»ffW«r.

%W Spolety h»d done by the introduction of fiiion which, the Society V action had? 'giver "them. Tweniy-eight settlers there hid sub scribed in small amounts '••sunr of. £11 t< the if unds of theitociety, and asked whethei the different subscribers to <&afe amount could Readmitted to .the gooiety's gardens fre< when in Auckland, It was , held that the rule? of the Society were explicit enongh od point*— A letter was read from Mr. J. 0. ; Mrth acknowledging the receipt of a con* si&'menfcof^out,*/ A quantity of 100 had been, placed on board the steamer, but while \they were being conveyed to* this province^, a considerable amount of painting nadbeen going on on board, and on examination after their arrival it" was found 36 were alive. On consulting with Mr. S. Jones, it ' was decided to have _ the water changed, which was done. He started next day for Matamata, and on the way thither he lost other 10. He named the different rivers into which the trout had been placed, which were the keys to a system of rivers in that district remarkably well adapted for the rearing of trout. He enclosed a cheque for the amount which he had engaged to pay. He also enclosed a copy of a letter which he had sent to the native, chiefs in that district, asking them to request their tribes to protect the trout for several years. — A letter was read from Honolulu, stating the desire of the inhabitants there to have sent to them one dozen pair of English sparrows, and also one~*dozen of the "blight bird," as they had learned it was remarkably useful in eating insects. After some discus, 1 sion, it was resolved to send the English sparrows asked for free of charge, the " blight birds" to be sent as soon as they can be caught.— A letter was read from the Honorary Secretary in London, in which it was stated that 32 plover, 2 hedgesparrows, 6,blackoaps, 100 redpolls, 45 robins, 18 woqdlarks,6o guinea pigs, and a pair of Tragopans from the Zoological Society were to be sent. The guinea-pigs were to form part of their food. It was resolved to send the thanks of the Society to the Zoological Society for these two birds. It was also resolved to enclose a piece of ground in the Society's gardens for those birds. They were a new and rare bird of partridge species. The Secretary was also instructed to send the thanks of the Sooiety to Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co. for the readiness they had shown in providing accommodation for the birds on board the ship ' Naomi' and ' Wild Duck.' — The 20 plover on board the * Naomi' were ordered to be turned out as soon as their moulting was passed. The redpoles were ordered to be turned out in the garden and Domain. — The captain of the ' Naomi' had stated that Mr. Fox, a passenger on board, had been exceedingly attentive to the birds on their passage out, and it was resolved to tender him the thanks of the Society therefor. • Tank fob the Aviary. — Some discussion arose upon this subject.— Mr. Palmer suggested it would be Hotter to have a well sunk. He did not think a great depth would have to be gone before some of the many springs in that neighbourhood were cut. About 35ft. would be the depth required.— It was ordered to get Bpouting put round the building, but not to purchase a tank at present. Black Indian Duck. —The Secretary stated that these birds were increasing very fast. There are now some for sale j what would be done with them ?— Several mem* bers said the duck was really a domestic bird, and, by turning them out, they would soon be killed. — It was ordered that they be kept for a fortnight, so that members might have a chance of purchasing them if they desired ib, aud that after that time the remainder be sold by auction, having an upset pjjice fixed. Californian Quail. — Some discussion arose as to the propriety of authorising the shooting of Californian quail during the next season. It was thought that they would be shot fast enough without any special order. It was stated that the birds were very shy and not easy to shoot. It was resolved to instruct the Superintendent -to declare that the bird could be shot during the coming season. The Hanger. —The Secretary stated that he had paid the ranger's (Mr. J. Frazers) salary up to the end of last month, and it was resolved to dispense with his services in the future. Black Partridge. — Mr. Williamson stated that he had seen Major Goodfellow in coming out on board the 'Bangalore,' who wai connected with the aimy in India, but was travelling in the colonies at present to sco what timbers were growing in them which it would be desirable to acclimatise in India. Major Goodfellow had spoken to him about the black partridge aa being a very desirable bird to introduce. About £10 would ouly be required to obtain a few brace for • India. The Major's residence was at present at Hobart Town.— lt was resolved to pay the sum stated on the arrival of the birds iv Auckland. Financial Statement. — The financial statement was read. The receipts had been less this year than in f ormpv years, bub a considerable increase of local subscriptions had been received, and the demand foy birds had increased so much that the Society could nob meet it. The draft of the annual report was read and adopted, and will be submitted at the annual meeting to be held on Wednesday next.

man and G0,,, flax mills, \tm charged by' plwntiff witb'seffinff 'several bales of flax \rithagt the knowledge and of his partner (plaintiff), and .not accounting for-j the proceeds. Ac tlje case torned out to be a question of- accounts between the members of tha firm, the Bench recommended them to settle the mattet oat of Court by arbitration, tan&eabh> to pay half the coits of Court. This wasungreed to, and the case was accordingly dismissed. ' '■ v » i , - -