PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 125 



already been admitted to the full benefits of several learned soeieties r 

 with- -so far as he, the speaker, knew or had been able to learn — nothing 

 but the happiest results. 



The Chairman said that, before they went further, lie thought the 

 Society would be glad to kiw: the opinion of the Council on the 

 matter, and consequently he stated that at the Meeting of the Council; 

 it had been very carefully considered, and they had passed a resolu- 

 tion which it was proposed to submit to the Meeting for approval — 

 by which they declared that the time had arrived when this question 

 must be seriously considered, and they recommended that a special com- 

 mittee be appointed to go into the matter, and to draw up a report as 

 the result of their deliberations, such report to be afterwards submitted 

 to a special Meeting of the Society to be called by the Council, for their 

 acceptance or otherwise. 



Mr. J. W. Gordon thought that in the present circumstances it would 

 be extremely inconvenient to discuss this epiestion at that Meeting, 

 before it had been more completely considered in all its bearings. 

 The question had been very fairly stated on one side by Mr. Scourfield, 

 but, although he had given it his best attention, he was not himself in 

 favour of the proposal. At the same time, he was in agreement with 

 Mr. Scourfield that it was a question which should be very carefully 

 considered, especially as there were some serious difficulties of a practical 

 nature to be faced in carrying out the proposal. 1. Assuming that they 

 had succeeded in attracting a number of ladies to the Society, a serious 

 question presented itself as to providing them with proper cloak-room 

 accommodation. There were no such conveniences available in this 

 building, and to provide them would, if permission were obtained to do 

 so, involve a considerable outlay. 2. The introduction of ladies to 

 their Meetings, which took place in the evening, would be very likely 

 to lead to what might be called the evening-dress habit ; and if this 

 became general it would probably affect the attendance at their Meet- 

 ings, by involving inconvenience to many Fellows of the Society. He 

 himself belonged to the Royal Institution, where ladies attend the 

 evening Meetings in considerable numbers, and at which consequently 

 the wearing of evening dress had become customary. He personally 

 found that by reason of the evening-dress habit he did not attend more 

 than three or four of these Meetings in the season, because he was 

 generally too busy, or, as some friend had put it, too indolent, to get 

 into evening dress for the purpose, and then get back into working 

 dress when he got home in order to resume an interrupted task at the 

 lathe or bench. He wished to suggest that this was a matter for 

 serious consideration. 3. Communications have reached the Officers of 

 the Society which showed that there were Fellows who took a very 

 strong adverse view of the proposal, and it would obviously be un- 

 wise to proceed with it in the face of any considerable opposition, and 

 possibly provoke, what had, in fact, been threatened, a secession from 

 the ranks of the Society. For these reasons he submitted that it would 

 be very desirable, before coming to any definite decision, that the opinion 

 of the "Fellows generally should be ascertained, and the subject in all its 

 aspects investigated by a committee. He therefore moved that the 

 suggestion of the Council be adopted, and that a small committee be 



