A STABLE INSPECTOR. Away back in the second year of the Federation’s existence Mr Ballantyne had been appointed stable inspector to the Society. The appointment had been made by the committee, but evidently the committee of the period with which we are dealing were unable to find any record of the fact, and seem to have taken exception to his work, which, according to one minute, “was independent of the board, and how or when he had been appointed could not be discovered.” The difficulty was not a great one, however. It was remitted to the sub-committee for investigation and, doubtless, a consultation with Mr Ballantyne, the gentleman in question, would put them on the track of the necessary information. Mr Ballantyne, during practically the whole period of the Society’s existence, had exercised supervision over the horses which were the property of the Society. He made a regular examination, and recommended the committee to dispose of horses which he considered unfitted for the work of the Society. The committee were evidently satisfied with the report which was made to them, for at the next meeting they endorsed and confirmed Mr Ballantyne’s appointment and agreed to pay 20/ a quarter for a monthly report from him on the condition of horses, vans, and all matters connected with the stable department—the appointment to be an annual one. FINANCE. The question of the proper depreciation of the property, fixed and live stock of the Society, to which attention had been called by the auditors on many occasions, had not yet been placed on a satisfactory basis. The committee brought in several amendments of rules for the purpose of putting the matter right, but these were not accepted by the delegates; nor was a counter proposal, that a sum of £200 be taken from the reserve fund and applied to reducing the value of the horses and plant. This latter proposal received a majority of the votes at the quarterly meeting, but as a majority of three-fourths of those voting was necessary before any money could be withdrawn from the reserve fund, and the majority was not large enough, both proposals dropped, and the old, unsatisfactory position continued. At a later date the question was again brought up by Mr Macintosh, who, in response to a request by the committee, outlined a scheme for putting this important branch of the Society’s financial arrangements on a sound footing. The practice had been to allocate a certain percentage of the profits each quarter to depreciation account; Mr Macintosh urged that for this method they should substitute that of allocating a fixed percentage of the initial cost, and that this should be regarded as a charge on the trade of the Society and should be allocated before the profits were ascertained and irrespective of whether there were any profits. The committee were in favour of the proposed alteration, but considered the time inopportune