There was a stormy meeting of the members of the
Zoological Society on Wednesday. The Society met for the purpose of electing Officers and Council for the ensuing year ; and the Earl of Derby was in the chair, as President. It appeared from what took place at the meeting, that a list of the persons to be balloted for had been prepared by the Council. This was what maybe called a house list ; arid the object of it was to exclude Dr. Grant, and Mr. Robert Gordon, M.P. from the Council for the next year ; as those gentle- men had been unpleasantly active in enforcing an economical system of management. A large number of the members, however, were de- termined to reelect Mr. Gordon and Dr. Grant, and went to the meet- ing on Wednesday resolved to move an opposition list. Lord Derby, in a most arbitrary manner, refused to put the motion, after it had been re- gularly proposed and seconded. He did all in his power to stifle discus- sion, and continued taking the votes in a hasty and irregular manner, while several members were calling upon him to arrest the ballot, in order that the claims of the persons on the two lists might be fairly dis- cussed. Cries of" Shame, shc.me ! " resounded from all parts of the room ; and the expressions of indignation at Lord Derby's conduct were almost universal. After many hundred votes were given, Mr. Henry Bulwer said, that he had voted in ignorance of the rule of the Society, Without paying his subscription ; and Lord Derby then said, that the whole ballot was void. The proceedings were annulled, by a vote of all present against four ; and the election was postponed to the 27th of May. Sir Charles Forbes, who had attended with a view of supporting the house list, voted against it, and expressed his strong disapproba- tion of the conduct of Lord Derby. A long letter from a member of the Society, addressed to Lord Derby, and commenting in terms of just indignation on the unprecedented and indecent behaviour of his Lord- ship, has reached us too late, and would occupy too much of our space, to allow us to insert it.
The East India Company have been taking measures to ascertain whether the tea plant can be successfully cultivated in any part of their territories. A tea Committee has been constituted ; Mr. Gordon, one of the members, was despatched from Calcutta some months ago, to Canton, with :30,000 rupees, to purchase seeds, plants, and engage la- bourers; and some specimens of a plant indigenous to some parts of Assam have been received at Calcutta, which are pronounced by Dr. Wallick, of the Botanic Gardens, to be the true Ica plant.
The King has sent to Mr. Campbell, the sculptor, to order a marble bust of Lord Grey, a fac-simile of the admirable likeness executed for his Lordship's family by that artist, and now forming the most attrac- tive embellishment at Howick. The bust ordered by his Majesty is, We understand, for the purpose of being placed in the Long Gallery at Windsor, where there is already a fine series of busts of illustrious Then.
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