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.”