387 



ration of Congress, and now before the House of Representa- 

 tives, authorizing the President to organize a new Arctic 

 Expedition. Mr. Blodget called attention to the argu- 

 ments in favor of such an expedition, as at present planned, 

 set forth in a pamphlet of forty pages entitled : " Polar Colo- 

 nization and Exploration, by Henry W. Howgate." As there 

 was a great deal of postponed business for the meeting of the 

 ^ening, any farther discussion of the subject was, on mo- 

 tion of Dr. LeConte, postponed. Mr. Blodget's resolution 

 was as follows : 



Resolved, That the proposed expedition for Polar research, to be organ- 

 ized by the President of tlie United States, and to be placed under the 

 scientific auspices of the National Academy of Science, is approved by 

 this Society, under the assurance tliat it will be conducted without material 

 risk to life. Under such conditions it may be productive of valuable re- 

 sults in physical science. 



On motion, the reading of the list of members was post- 

 poned to the next meeting, and the list of pending nomina- 

 tions for membership, from j^o. 809 to 831, was read and 

 the claims of each nominee in turn presented by the sub- 

 scribers to the nomination. 



Mr. Blodget Britton offered the following resolution, 

 which was, on motion, seconded, debated and adopted, viz. : 



Resolved, That the Officers of the Society be authorized to certify the 

 approval of a bill to relieve charitable devises and bequests from collateral 

 tax ; and that this Society unites in the prayer for the passage of such a 

 law. 



The following is a copy of the text of the proposed law : 



An act to relieve charitable devises and bequests from payment of col- 

 lateral tax. 



Whereas, When charitable devises and bequests are made for objects 

 of public good it is unwise to diminish that good by taxation : Therefore 



Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and it is hereby enacted by authority 

 of the same. That all collateral taxes upon legacies and devises for charit- 

 able purposes are hereby repealed ; and all such taxes not already paid in- 

 to the State Treasury are hereby relinquished and released. 



Mr. Briggs and Mr. Lesley opposed the passage of the 



