CHAPTER IV

AS PRESIDENT OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY

[1879-1899]

During a portion of his tenure of office as Conservator of the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, and throughout the whole of his Directorship of the Natural History Museum, Sir William Flower occupied the Presidential Chair of the Zoological Society of London—the oldest body of its kind in existence. The events narrated in the present chapter occurred therefore during the period covered by its two immediate predecessors; nevertheless, this method of treatment, although breaking the chronological order, has been found, on the whole, the most convenient.

The Zoological Society, it may be observed, has been in the habit of selecting its presidents from three distinct classes. As in the case of the late Prince Consort, the president may be a personage of exalted rank without any claim to a special knowledge of zoology. On the other hand, as exemplified by the Earl of Derby, who filled the office in the “fifties,” the Marquis of Tweeddale in the “seventies,” and the Duke of Bedford at the present time, he may combine high rank with a more or less pronounced taste for and knowledge of natural history, or, finally, as in the case of the founder, Sir Stamford Raffles, he may be selected solely for his eminence as a zoologist or as a lover of animals.

On the death of the Marquis of Tweeddale, 29th December 1878, Professor Flower was selected by the Council to fill the presidential chair; the appointment being duly ratified at the Annual Meeting of the Society held the following spring. From that date till the year of his death, Flower was annually re-elected president by the unanimous vote of the meeting. He made an admirable president, his deliberate mode of speaking being specially well adapted to the comments expected from a scientific man occupying the presidential chair at the scientific meetings. From his wide knowledge of zoology, anatomy, and palæontology, he was able to speak to the point on almost all the papers read at the Society’s meetings; and those privileged to listen to his remarks on any specimen in which he was specially interested will not readily forget the impressive manner in which he brought its more salient and characteristic features to the notice of his hearers. Many of his more important scientific memoirs communicated to the Society had been published in its _Proceedings_ or _Transactions_, before he accepted the presidential chair, in days when the calls on his time were not so pressing or so numerous as they afterwards became; but even after his elevation to the presidency several valuable memoirs were received from him, the most important being, perhaps, one on the classification and affinities of the dolphins, to which fuller reference is made in another chapter.

During Flower’s presidency several important events and changes occurred in the affairs of the Zoological Society; and although the management was to a very great extent in the hands of the Secretary, Dr. P. L. Sclater, yet in matters of extreme importance the influence and opinions of the president always made themselves felt—the more so, perhaps, that they were not in special evidence in the case of trivial matters. In the early eighties the Society suffered severely from financial depression, its income in the years 1883 and 1884 falling far below its expenditure. Thanks, however, to the patient sagacity and great administrative powers of the president and secretary, the affairs of the Society were soon put on a much more satisfactory basis, and long before the death of the former, a state of prosperity was reached which had seldom, if ever, been equalled, and certainly never excelled.

In the first year of his presidency, Flower delivered one of the Davis lectures in the Society’s Gardens, the subject being birds that do not fly, and he also lectured in the two following years, selecting as his subjects in 1881 firstly whales, and secondly dolphins. The following year was notable on account of the sale to the great American showman, Barnum, of the African elephant “Jumbo.” The reason for thus parting with a valuable and interesting animal was that it was unsafe to keep it in the gardens any longer. The sale, as stated in the “Record” of the Society, caused a good deal of public excitement, but the Council would not have parted with the animal unless satisfactory reasons for so doing had been laid before it by the responsible Executive of the Gardens.

A still more important event occurred in 1883, namely the transference of the Society’s Offices and Library from No 11 to No 3 Hanover Square; the freehold of the latter house having been secured by the Council at a cost of £16,250. Such an important transaction would not, we may be assured, have been allowed to take place without the most careful deliberation and consideration on the part of the President.

On the first meeting of the Society, held on 1st April 1884, in its new premises, the President took the opportunity of congratulating the Fellows present on the very great improvement in the Meeting-room, the Library, and the Offices, resulting from the change. The Society had occupied the old house, No 11 Hanover Square, for forty-one years, and had long since quite outgrown the accommodation it afforded in all the three departments mentioned above.

The income of the Society had increased from £9137 in 1843 to £28,966 in 1883, with a corresponding increase of clerical work. The Library had been almost entirely formed since the earlier of these dates, and was rapidly increasing, and the attendance of the Fellows at the evening meetings for scientific business had been such that the old rooms were quite inadequate for their accommodation. The President trusted that the increased facilities afforded by the move would be taken advantage of by the Fellows in promoting, with even greater zeal than previously, the work for which the Society was founded, and in maintaining and extending the high reputation it had acquired in the scientific world.

Few presidents or chairmen, whether of scientific societies or of commercial companies, could have had a more satisfactory record of progress to lay before their supporters. The following account of certain events in the Society’s history which took place in 1887 is extracted from the “Record” of its work:—

“In order to mark the Jubilee of her late Majesty Queen Victoria which took place this year, in some special way, it was decided to hold the General Meeting in June in the Gardens. After the usual formal business had been transacted, the Silver Medal awarded to the Maharaja of Kuch-Behar was presented to His Highness in person, and suitably acknowledged. Professor Flower, C.B., President of the Society, then delivered an address, which was printed as an Appendix to the Council’s Report. It dealt in general terms with the principal points in the history of the Society, from its foundation in 1826, tracing its progress throughout. The connection of the Royal Family with the Society as Patrons and Donors, the scientific meetings, the publications, the Davis Lectures, the menagerie, and the recent improvements in the Gardens were passed in review. The President concluded by appealing for the continued support of the public, either by becoming Fellows or by visiting the Gardens, and expressed the hope that the ‘brief record of the Society’s history would show that such support was not undeserved by those who have had the management of its affairs.’ A reception held after the meeting was numerously attended by the Fellows and their friends, and by many specially invited guests, among whom were the Queen of Hawaii and Princess Liliokalani, the Thakor Sahib of Limdli, H.H. the Prince Devawongse, and the Maharaja of Bhurtpore.”

The reception, which was held on 15th June in brilliant weather, was a marked success; the number of foreign visitors in their native dresses lending additional patches of colour to the scene. The President’s address on the occasion is reprinted in his _Essays on Museums_.

Referring to Sir William’s death, the “Record” of the Society has the following paragraph:—

“On 1st July [1899] the Presidentship of the Society became vacant by the death of Sir William Flower who had filled the office for more than twenty years. During this period Sir William Flower had regularly occupied the Presidential chair, and had been constantly engaged on committees and on other matters connected with the Society’s affairs. In Sir William Flower the Society lost a zoologist of the highest ability and a most able and energetic President. To succeed him the Council selected His Grace the Duke of Bedford as President, and their choice was confirmed at the Anniversary Meeting in 1900.”