ANNALS OF THE ACADEMY We 
““T therefore propose that the fund raised for endowment shall be given to 
the National Academy of Sciences, to hold the same in trust and to invest and 
reinvest as may be necessary or advisable. The income or interest of the fund 
shall be administered by a board of directors consisting of three persons, of whom 
at least two shall be members of the Academy. .. . . 
“Sincerely yours, 
“’Wotcotr GIBBs. 
*“ Newport, March 1, 1892.” 
It will be recalled that the number of members of the 
Academy was originally restricted to 50, and that in 1870, by 
an unanimous vote, Congress was petitioned to amend the charter 
and remove this restriction. Favorable action was taken by Con- 
gress, and the limitation was removed by an Act approved July 
14, 1870. 
In 1892 Professor B. A. Gould wrote a letter to the Presi- 
dent of the Academy informing him that a fund which would 
yield an annual income of $1,500 could be procured for the 
Academy, provided the membership should be reduced to 50, or 
at most to 70, the idea of the person offering to present the fund 
being that the income should be used to defray a part of the 
expenses of members attending the meetings of the Academy. 
The matter was referred to the Council, apparently without 
discussion, and seems never to have been further acted upon, 
but at the November meeting of the same year the committee on 
amendments to the constitution reported: “There is divided 
opinion upon the desirability of decrease in membership, with a 
preponderance of belief on the whole that the present limit, 
which is practically one hundred, is about right.” “ While no 
reduction was regularly recommended, the committee proposed 
a plan of election which in its opinion, would “ satisfy the de- 
mands of those who are desirous of placing greater restrictions 
around admission to membership in the Academy, as well as those 
who believe that the limiting number of members cannot be 
placed below one hundred without doing injustice to many scien- 
tific men who by reason of their accomplishments are fairly 
* Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., vol. 1, p. 373. 
